[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 134 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 134

  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 K-12 schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2023

    Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 K-12 schools.

Whereas young people, teachers, school staff, families, and communities must be 
        free from transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and ableism in K-12 
        schools;
Whereas K-12 schools must be safe and inclusive learning environments that 
        include and affirm LGBTQI+ young people, especially those who are 
        transgender, nonbinary, intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color, 
        and people with disabilities and those who are from communities that 
        experience marginalization;
Whereas, for more than 2 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 to 2024 as a time for communities to 
        support the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative in support 
        of LGBTQI+ young people in schools by building on the goals of National 
        Day of Silence and No Name-Calling Week to create a sustained call to 
        action to demand equal educational opportunities, 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, where on March 30, 2020, 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;

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

    (3) in Tennessee in 2021, Governor Bill Lee signed a bill that allows 
any student, parent, or employee to sue if they interact with a transgender 
person in a school bathroom or other facility; and

    (4) in 2022, Alabama and Oklahoma enacted laws that prevent transgender 
students from using the school bathroom or locker room that corresponds 
with their gender identity;

Whereas GLSEN'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 
        GPAs, 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 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 the GLSEN'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+ individuals, history, and contributions from classroom 
        literature and curricula, including--

    (1) in March 2022, in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 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, Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2035, which 
would require parental consent for a child to learn about topics such as 
the United States Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 
644 (2015), that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex 
couples; and

    (3) in 2021, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and Tennessee enacted laws 
that treat instruction related to LGBTQI+ individuals 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 families 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 HB 1557;
Whereas States have gone farther by specifically targeting transgender students 
        and their families with policies that attack mental health counseling 
        and gender-affirming care for transgender students, including--

    (1) in 2022, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbot 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, 34 States have introduced over 135 bills that 
prohibit or create barriers to the social affirmation of transgender and 
nonbinary students in schools, such as using a student's chosen name and 
pronouns, regardless of the risk to the student's 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 individuals 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 young people who develop in positive school climates, free from 
        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 of 
        a bar and that all communities deserve to be acknowledged and affirmed 
        in schools;
Whereas students and families, educators, and community members in Arizona, 
        Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and in all States 
        and territories are advocating for safe and inclusive learning 
        environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, particularly 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 Senate--
            (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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