[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 59 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2648-S2649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 628--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 LGBTIQI+ YOUNG PEOPLE, IN K-12 SCHOOLS

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

                              S. Res. 628

       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 2024 to 2025 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 (No) 
     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 have been 
     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) in 24 additional States that enacted policies between 
     2021 and 2024 that prohibit transgender students from playing 
     alongside their peers on school sports teams;
       (3) in Tennessee, where 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 10 States that, between 2021 and 2024, 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 discrimination on the 
     basis of their LGBTQI+ identity at school in the past year, 
     including being prevented from using the restroom that aligns 
     with their gender identity and being barred from playing on 
     the school sports team that aligns with their 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 similar 
     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 have passed or attempted to pass legislation 
     that erases or censors LGBTQI+ individuals, history, and 
     contributions from classroom literature and curricula, 
     including--
       (1) in Florida, where in March 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis 
     signed HB 1557 into law, censoring instruction related to 
     LGBTQI+ people, commonly referred to as the ``Don't Say 
     LGBTQ+'' law;
       (2) in the 6 additional States that enacted laws between 
     2022 and 2024 censoring instruction related to LGBTQI+ 
     people;

[[Page S2649]]

       (3) in Arizona, where in May of 2021, Governor Doug Ducey 
     signed HB 2035, which requires 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), in which 
     the Court held that the fundamental right to marry is 
     guaranteed to same-sex couples; and
       (4) in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and Tennessee, which in 
     2021 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 Texas, where in 2022, 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) the introduction of at least 55 bills in 22 States, 
     since the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, 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 data provided by the Department of Justice shows 
     that the number of reported anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes in 
     schools has increased from 145 reported incidents in 2019 to 
     251 reported incidents in 2022;
       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;
       Whereas affirming policies, such as enumerated anti-
     bullying protections, gender neutral dress code guidelines, 
     and inclusive learning practices, are proven strategies to 
     address hostile learning environments for all students; 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+;
       (2) recognizes the contributions of students and families, 
     educators, and community members who participate in the Day 
     of (No) Silence to draw attention to the bullying, 
     harassment, assault, and discrimination faced by LGBTQI+ 
     students; and
       (3) 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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