GLSEN lauds bipartisan introduction of Safe Schools Improvement Act in House
70 cosponsors announce support for federal leadership to address bullying while hundreds of thousands of students participate in GLSEN's Day of Silence
Washington DC, April 15, 2011 -- GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, stands with a broad coalition of LGBT and youth development organizations in celebrating today's introduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act in the House by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and 70 bi-partisan cosponsors. The act was introduced in the Senate on March 3, 2011 by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and lead cosponsor Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL).
The Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is endorsed by the over 80 members of the GLSEN-led National Safe Schools Partnership, would require schools to implement comprehensive anti-bullying policies that include enumerated characteristics of students most often targeted, such as race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
"We are pleased to join our partners in the National Safe Schools Partnership in continuing our support for the Safe Schools Improvement Act," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "We thank Representative Sánchez and all the cosponsors from both parties for recognizing the need for federal leadership to address a public health crisis affecting youth across the country."
The House introduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act occurs on the same day that hundreds of thousands of students across the world are participating in GLSEN's Day of Silence. Students typically participate by taking some form of a vow of silence to raise awareness about anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment.
"The Day of Silence is a symbolic representation of the silencing effect young people across the country experience every day because of anti-LGBT bullying," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "For far too long we as a nation have ignored the pervasive problem of anti-LGBT bullying. Students across the country are coming together on the Day of Silence to say it needs to get better now, and we thank the 70 House cosponsors of the Safe Schools Improvement Act for responding to their calls."
Nearly two-thirds of middle and high school students (65%) said they had been bullied in school in the past year, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report from GLSEN and Harris Interactive that surveyed more than 3,000 students. However, students at schools with a comprehensive anti-bullying policy similar to the one required by the Safe Schools Improvement Act were less likely than other students to report a serious harassment problem at their school (33% vs. 44%).
No federal law or policy exists that requires schools to adopt policies to address bullying, and existing state laws vary greatly in their breadth and effectiveness.
