[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 265 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 265

  Supporting the goals and ideals of the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in 
Schools Initiative, a call to action to communities across the country 
      to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights 
 protections, and freedom from erasure for all students, particularly 
       LGBTQI+ young people, in elementary and secondary schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2023

   Mr. Takano (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Supporting the goals and ideals of the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in 
Schools Initiative, a call to action to communities across the country 
      to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights 
 protections, and freedom from erasure for all students, particularly 
       LGBTQI+ young people, in elementary and secondary schools.

Whereas young people, teachers, school staff, families, and communities must be 
        free of transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and ableism in 
        elementary and secondary schools;
Whereas elementary and secondary schools must be safe and inclusive learning 
        environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, especially those who are 
        transgender, nonbinary, intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color, 
        people with disabilities, and from all communities that experience 
        marginalization;
Whereas for over two decades, Congress has supported a resolution for a 
        ``National Day of Silence'', and for a decade, Congress has supported a 
        resolution for ``No Name-Calling Week'';
Whereas advocates have designated 2023-2024 as a time for communities to carry 
        out the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative in support of 
        LGBTQI+ young people in schools, by building on the goals of the 
        ``National Day of Silence'' and the ``No Name-Calling Week'' to create a 
        sustained call to action to demand equal educational opportunity, basic 
        civil rights protections, and freedom from erasure for all students;
Whereas LGBTQI+ young people frequently experience bias-based bullying and 
        harassment, discrimination, and punitive discipline that increases the 
        likelihood they will enter the school-to-prison pipeline;
Whereas over 200 anti-LGBTQI+ education bills are introduced each year in State 
        legislatures across the country, the majority of which specifically 
        target transgender and nonbinary young people, including--

    (1) in Idaho, on March 30, 2020, where Governor Brad Little signed the 
first bill into law barring transgender students from playing on the school 
sports teams that correspond with their gender identity 17 days after the 
COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency;

    (2) between 2021 and 2022, when 17 additional States enacted laws 
prohibiting transgender students from playing alongside their peers on 
school sports teams; and

    (3) between 2021 and 2022, when 3 States enacted laws to prevent 
transgender students from using the school bathroom or locker room that 
corresponds with their gender identity;

Whereas the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's 2021 National School 
        Climate Survey found that LGBTQI+ students who experienced LGBTQI+ 
        discrimination at school in the past year, including being prevented 
        from using the restroom that aligns with the student's gender identity 
        and being barred from playing on the school sports team that aligns with 
        the student's gender identity, were nearly 3 times as likely to have 
        missed school in the past month, had lower grade point averages, 
        reported lower feelings of school belonging, and had higher levels of 
        depression compared to LGBTQI+ students who had not experienced LGBTQI+ 
        discrimination;
Whereas LGBTQI+ young people are more likely than their non-LGBTQI+ peers to 
        experience bullying at school and mental health concerns, including 
        stress, anxiety, and depression;
Whereas nearly half of LGBTQI+ young people seriously considered suicide in the 
        last year, a trend that increases among Indigenous, Black, and 
        multiracial LGBTQI+ young people;
Whereas Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's 2021 National School 
        Climate Survey found that, among LGBTQI+ students who said that they 
        were considering dropping out of school, 31.4 percent indicated that 
        they were doing so because of the hostile climate created by gendered 
        school policies and practices;
Whereas States are passing or attempting to pass legislation that erases or 
        censors LGBTQI+ people, history, and contributions from classroom 
        literature and curricula, including--

    (1) in March 2022, in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis signed House 
bill 1557 into law censoring instruction related to LGBTQI+ people, 
commonly referred to as the ``Don't Say Gay or Trans'' law;

    (2) in May 2021, in Arizona, where Governor Doug Ducey signed House 
bill 2035, which would require parental consent for a child to learn about 
topics such as the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that the 
fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples; and

    (3) in 2021, when Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and Tennessee enacted 
laws that treat instruction related to LGBTQI+ people in history, science, 
the arts, or any academic class as a sensitive topic that requires parental 
notification and allows parents to opt their child out of such instruction;

Whereas these laws harm students and force parents to consider leaving their 
        homes, as demonstrated in a Williams Institute report, which found that 
        56 percent of LGBTQI+ parents of students in Florida considered moving 
        out of Florida and 16.5 percent have taken steps to move out of Florida 
        because of House bill 1557;
Whereas States have gone farther by specifically targeting transgender students 
        and their parents with laws that attack transgender students' mental 
        health counseling and gender-affirming care, including--

    (1) in 2022, in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to 
the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate the parents 
of young people seeking gender-affirming care for child abuse, which 
purported to require school professionals to report parents who are 
supportive of their transgender child for investigation; and

    (2) by early March 2023, when 34 States introduced over 135 bills that 
prohibit or create barriers to the social affirmation of transgender and 
nonbinary students, such as using a student's chosen name and pronouns, 
regardless of the risk to students' safety, health, and well-being;

Whereas 85 percent of transgender and nonbinary young people say that recent 
        debates prompted by State legislation restricting the rights of 
        transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health;
Whereas every young person must have equal educational opportunity and freedom 
        from the fear that their basic civil and educational rights will be 
        taken away from them;
Whereas 94 percent of teachers say that schools should ensure that no students 
        feel unsafe, invisible, or unheard;
Whereas young people who develop in positive school climates, free of bullying, 
        harassment, and discrimination, report greater physical and 
        psychological safety, greater mental well-being, and improved 
        educational and life outcomes;
Whereas positive school transformation must recognize that safety is too low a 
        bar and that all communities deserve to be acknowledged and affirmed in 
        our schools;
Whereas students and parents, educators, and community members in Arizona, 
        Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and in all States 
        and territories of the United States are advocating for safe and 
        inclusive learning environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, 
        including those who are transgender, nonbinary, Black, Indigenous, 
        people of color, and people with disabilities; and
Whereas we must all demand the best possible future for all young people in 
        schools, particularly those who identify as LGBTQI+, without exception: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of the Rise Up for 
        LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative in demanding the best 
        possible future for all young people in schools, particularly 
        those who identify as LGBTQI+; and
            (2) encourages each State, territory, and locality to 
        support the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative and 
        adopt laws and policies that prohibit bias-based victimization, 
        exclusion, and erasure.
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