Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013, which is an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that includes a variety of reforms designed to make American schools safer and more effective institutions. The bill includes Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) Student Non-Discrimination Act, SNDA, which is focused on preventing harassment, discrimination, and violence in the public school system targeted at gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.
Currently, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not federally prohibited in public schools. The act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the existing list of federally protected bases of discrimination alongside race, color, sex, religion, disability, and national origin. This measure would allow the federal government to withdraw funding from schools that condoned such discrimination in secondary schools, as well as empower students to take legal action against perpetrators of harassment.
No comments:
Post a Comment