Responding to the influx of reported LGBT teen suicides, The U.S. Department of Education announced Oct. 26 that it has released a letter to more than 20,000 schools instructing them to crack down on anti-gay bullying.
The 10-page document, which lays out possible bullying scenarios, says that schools are "legally obligated" to respond to gender-based harassment. It goes on to explain that while sexual orientation is not protected under federal civil rights laws, LGBT students are protected against discrimination because Title 9 protects gender expression.
"Are we putting people on notice? Yes," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in an Oct. 26 press conference. "We're going to challenge [ schools ] that have their heads in the sand." Duncan also said that schools that do not follow anti-discrimination laws could lose their funding, and that his department was "more than prepared to step in."
The announcement marks the first time the Department of Education has explicitly spelled out schools' responsibilities to protect LGBT students from harassment.
"We think this could not be any more timely or important," said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. "When LGBT students are harassed, folks don't realize that because Federal Civil Rights Laws don't protect against sexual orientation discrimination, these students are still very much so protected by the federal civil rights laws."
The letter does not introduce new policy, nor does it change federal laws that already protect students from discrimination. Rather, it contextualizes homophobic bullying within old policy, and calls on schools to consider anti-gay bullying as possible harassment .
"The type of harassment directed at LGBT students takes the form of gender-based stereotyping, and that is protected," said Scott Hamilton, press secretary for the Department of Education."This is the first time that office for civil rights and the dept for education has articulated and clarified responsibilities that educators have to protect GLBT folks against the kinds of harassment covered under essentially gender stereotyping and gender-based harassment."
Department officials also said that they were beginning a grassroots campaign to inform the public about enforcement of anti-harassment laws. The Obama administration recently launched a resource site about bullying ( www.bullyinginfo.org ) , at which students and parents can report harassment in schools. Officials also say the White House will host a conference next year on bullying.
"Bullying is a problem that simply shouldn't exist," said Duncan. "No one should ever feel harassed or unsafe in a school simply because they act, or think, or dress different than others."
