The Student Non-Discrimination Act (, ) is proposed United States federal legislation that aims to protect

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

students against bullying and discrimination in school. It is modeled after

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

of the

Education Amendments of 1972 The Education Amendments of 1972, also sometimes known as the Higher Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law No. 92‑318, 86 Stat. 235), were U.S. legislation enacted on June 23, 1972. It is best known for its Title IX, which prohibited sex d ...

, which addressed discrimination on the basis of sex. The legislation was first introduced in the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

(2010-2011) and it died in committee.Keen News Service
Dana Rudolph, "Student anti-bullying, non-discrimination bills face uncertain path," March 9, 2011
accessed March 6, 2012 On March 10, 2011, Rep.

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...

(D-CO) introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives and Sen.

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

(D-MN) introduced it in the Senate.''Washington Blade''
Chris Johnson, "Polis reintroduces Student Non-Discrimination Act, March 10, 2011
accessed March 6, 2012 Its prospects for passage were uncertain. Polis hoped the bill could become part of the annual re-authorization of the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1965. Part of Johnson's "War on Poverty", the act has been one of the most far-re ...

(ESEA). It has 99 co-sponsors in the House and 27 co-sponsors in the Senate. Franken cited the 2010 suicide of Justin Aaberg, a 15-year-old Minnesota high school student, and appeared the same day at a press conference with Aalberg's mother, a critic of the record of the Minnesota Anoka-Hennepin Public School District on LGBT harassment. The introduction of the legislation was part of a week of events that focused on the problem of bullying, including a White House conference on bullying prevention and the introduction of two related bills, the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and

Mark Kirk Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is a retired American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017, and as the United States representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district fr ...

(R-IL) and the

Tyler Clementi Tyler Clementi (December 19, 1991 – September 22, 2010) was an American student at Rutgers University–New Brunswick who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River at the age of 18, on September 22, 2010. On S ...

Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act by Sen.

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...

(D-N.J.) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.). The legislation provides a federal prohibition on discrimination against LGBT students in public schools. It forbids schools from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity and prohibits them from ignoring harassing behavior. The bill defines discrimination as "harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity." Distinct from state legislation, the legislation can be enforced with the loss of federal funding. Franken co-authored an article in support of the legislation with

Joe Solmonese Joe Solmonese is a political strategist and activist who served as president of the Human Rights Campaign of the United States and its affiliate the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. He was appointed to this position on March 9, 2005, replacing C ...

, president of the Human Rights Campaign in October 2010 and produced a video in its support a year later. Neal McCluskey of the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...

warned that "The definition of harassment could be so broadly interpreted that anybody who expressed a totally legitimate opinion about homosexual behavior could be made illegal. That's a violation of those kids who want to express opposition to LGBT opinions or behavior." Another opponent said it represented "the radical homosexual agenda" of

Kevin Jennings Kevin Brett Jennings (born May 8, 1963) is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from July 6, 2009 – June 2011. Je ...

, assistant deputy secretary for the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools The Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) (formerly Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) is a subdivision within the United States Department of Education that is responsible for assisting drug and violence prevention activities within ...

. On March 8, 2012, the

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 per ...

, the

Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 l ...

, the

American Counseling Association The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a membership organization representing licensed professional counselors (LPCs), counseling students, and other counseling professionals in the United States. It is the world's largest association exclus ...

, the NAACP, the

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Founded in 1893, NCJW is self-described as the oldest Jewish women’s grassroots organization in the United States, now comprised by over 180,000 members. As of ...

, and several dozen other groups supported the legislation in a letter to President Obama.''MetroWeekly''
Chris Geidner, "Seventy Groups Tell White House SNDA Endorsement Would Be 'a Clarion Call for Equality'," March 8, 2012
accessed March 9, 2012

Notes

External links

Text of the House versionText of the Senate versionThe Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA): A Legal Analysis

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Student Non-Discrimination Act Proposed legislation of the 111th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 112th United States Congress United States proposed federal LGBT legislation LGBT rights in the United States United States federal civil rights legislation United States federal education legislation Affirmative action in the United States LGBT and education

See also

Notes

External links