[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1056-S1057]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 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

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

                              S. Res. 134

       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

[[Page S1057]]

     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 
     wellbeing;
       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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