[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 265 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 265
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
LGBTQI+ young people, in elementary and secondary schools.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2023
Mr. Takano (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
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
LGBTQI+ young people, in elementary and secondary schools.
Whereas young people, teachers, school staff, families, and communities must be
free of transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and ableism in
elementary and secondary schools;
Whereas elementary and secondary schools must be safe and inclusive learning
environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, especially those who are
transgender, nonbinary, intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color,
people with disabilities, and from all communities that experience
marginalization;
Whereas for over two 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 2023-2024 as a time for communities to carry
out the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative in support of
LGBTQI+ young people in schools, by building on the goals of the
``National Day of Silence'' and the ``No Name-Calling Week'' to create a
sustained call to action to demand equal educational opportunity, 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 are introduced each year in State
legislatures across the country, the majority of which specifically
target transgender and nonbinary young people, including--
(1) in Idaho, on March 30, 2020, where 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 17 days after the
COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency;
(2) between 2021 and 2022, when 17 additional States enacted laws
prohibiting transgender students from playing alongside their peers on
school sports teams; and
(3) between 2021 and 2022, when 3 States enacted laws to prevent
transgender students from using the school bathroom or locker room that
corresponds with their gender identity;
Whereas the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's 2021 National School
Climate Survey found that LGBTQI+ students who experienced LGBTQI+
discrimination at school in the past year, including being prevented
from using the restroom that aligns with the student's gender identity
and being barred from playing on the school sports team that aligns with
the student's gender identity, were nearly 3 times as likely to have
missed school in the past month, had lower grade point averages,
reported lower feelings of school belonging, and had higher levels of
depression compared to LGBTQI+ students who had not experienced LGBTQI+
discrimination;
Whereas LGBTQI+ young people are more likely than their non-LGBTQI+ peers to
experience bullying at school and 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 Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network'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 are passing or attempting to pass legislation that erases or
censors LGBTQI+ people, history, and contributions from classroom
literature and curricula, including--
(1) in March 2022, in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis signed House
bill 1557 into law censoring instruction related to LGBTQI+ people,
commonly referred to as the ``Don't Say Gay or Trans'' law;
(2) in May 2021, in Arizona, where Governor Doug Ducey signed House
bill 2035, which would require parental consent for a child to learn about
topics such as the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that the
fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples; and
(3) in 2021, when Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and Tennessee enacted
laws that treat instruction related to LGBTQI+ people 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 parents 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 House bill 1557;
Whereas States have gone farther by specifically targeting transgender students
and their parents with laws that attack transgender students' mental
health counseling and gender-affirming care, including--
(1) in 2022, in Texas, where 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) by early March 2023, when 34 States introduced over 135 bills that
prohibit or create barriers to the social affirmation of transgender and
nonbinary students, such as using a student's chosen name and pronouns,
regardless of the risk to students' 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 people have negatively impacted their mental health;
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 94 percent of teachers say that schools should ensure that no students
feel unsafe, invisible, or unheard;
Whereas young people who develop in positive school climates, free of 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 a
bar and that all communities deserve to be acknowledged and affirmed in
our schools;
Whereas students and parents, educators, and community members in Arizona,
Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and in all States
and territories of the United States are advocating for safe and
inclusive learning environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people,
including those who are transgender, nonbinary, Black, Indigenous,
people of color, and people with disabilities; 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 House of Representatives--
(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+; and
(2) 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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