Sen. Al Franken Intros College Non-Discrimination Bill

Senator Al Franken and 22 cosponsors introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, a companion to companion bill to H.R. 4530, introduced by Rep. Jared Polis in the House early this year, which would prohibit discrimination in schools on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Rep. Polis’s bill currently has the support of over 100 representatives.

From Open Congress:

Under this bill, no school program that receives public funding would be allowed to exclude children because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, be they gay, transgender or straight. Harassment based on gender or sexual orientation, defined as “conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate,” would also not be allowed as a sanctioned element of a public school program. If schools discriminate or sanction harassment in their federally funded programs, federal education agencies would be given the authority to terminate their funding.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Sen. Al Franken Introduces Student Non-Discrimination Act to Senate (lafiga.firedoglake.com)
• Rochelle Hamilton: Let Students to Be Themselves (huffingtonpost.com)