[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 98 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 98
Supporting the goals and ideals of GLSEN's 2020 Day of Silence in
bringing attention to anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer (LGBTQ) name-calling, bullying, and harassment faced by
individuals in schools.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 24, 2020
Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Haaland, Ms. Norton, Mrs.
Hayes, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Ryan, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Velazquez,
Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York,
Mr. Heck, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr.
Pallone, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Kuster of New
Hampshire, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Foster, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Brown of Maryland,
Mr. Bera, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Peters, Ms. Johnson
of Texas, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Welch, Mr. Schiff, Mr.
Soto, Ms. Dean, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Carson of Indiana,
Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Johnson of Georgia,
Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Swalwell of California, Ms. DelBene,
Mr. Serrano, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of
Pennsylvania, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Meng, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Moulton, Mr.
Hastings, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Craig, Mr. Crow, Mr. Takano, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
Higgins of New York, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Titus, Ms.
Tlaib, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Finkenauer, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms.
Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Sires, Miss Rice of New York,
Ms. Speier, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs.
Davis of California, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Omar, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Rouda, Mr.
Tonko, Mrs. Lowey, and Mr. Cisneros) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of GLSEN's 2020 Day of Silence in
bringing attention to anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer (LGBTQ) name-calling, bullying, and harassment faced by
individuals in schools.
Whereas the National Day of Silence is a day in which students take a vow of
silence to bring attention to the anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer name-calling, bullying, and harassment faced by
individuals in schools;
Whereas GLSEN is a national nonprofit organization working to create safe and
affirming learning environments in primary and secondary schools
nationwide, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender
expression;
Whereas GLSEN designates one day of every April as the Day of Silence;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of students at thousands of schools have
participated in the National Day of Silence in past years;
Whereas GLSEN's 2017 National School Climate Survey illustrates the pervasive
harassment and victimization faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer students by documenting their experiences within
the preceding academic year;
Whereas 70 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students
reported being verbally harassed by their peers at school because of
their sexual orientation, and 59 percent because of their gender
expression;
Whereas 29 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students
reported being physically harassed by their peers at school because of
their sexual orientation, and 24 percent because of their gender
expression;
Whereas nearly 13 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
students reported being physically assaulted by their peers at school
because of their sexual orientation, and 11 percent because of their
gender expression;
Whereas 60 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students
reported that they felt unsafe in school because of their sexual
orientation, and 35 percent reported missing at least one entire
schoolday in the preceding month because of safety concerns;
Whereas transgender students were more likely than all other students to report
feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expression;
Whereas according to the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, those
who expressed a transgender identity or gender nonconformity while in
grades K through 12 reported alarming rates of harassment, physical
assault, and sexual violence so severe that 17 percent of those surveyed
had to leave school;
Whereas according to the 2017 National School Climate Survey, student academic
performance is affected such that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and queer students who experienced high levels of harassment and assault
because of their sexual orientation or gender expression report a grade
point average nearly a half grade lower than those of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer students who experienced low levels of
such harassment and assault;
Whereas the presence of supportive staff contributed to a range of positive
indicators including fewer reports of missing school, fewer reports of
feeling unsafe, greater academic achievement, higher educational
aspirations, and a greater sense of school belonging;
Whereas a growing number of States, cities, and local education authorities are
adopting laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying,
harassment, and discrimination against students on the basis of their
sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; and
Whereas every child should be guaranteed an education free from name-calling,
bullying, harassment, and discrimination regardless of his or her sexual
orientation and gender identity or expression: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of the National Day of
Silence;
(2) requests that the President issue a proclamation
calling on the people of the United States to observe the
GLSEN's Day of Silence with appropriate ceremonies, programs,
and activities; and
(3) encourages each State, city, and local educational
agency to adopt laws and policies to prohibit name-calling,
bullying, harassment, and discrimination against students,
teachers, and other school staff regardless of their sexual
orientation and gender identity or expression, so that the
Nation's schools are institutions where all individuals are
able to focus on learning.
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