More than 180 unfriendly bills introduced this year target LGBTQ+ youth
Posted: March 30, 2023
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D, Hawaiʻi), introduced a resolution Wednesday to demand equal educational opportunities, basic civil rights, and freedom from erasure for all students in K-12 schools amid a rise of attacks against LGBTQ+ students.
“Every child should feel safe at school,” said Schatz. “As attacks against LGBTQ+ students increase across the country, we need to take action to protect these students and fight back against the discriminatory policies that harm them. Our resolution pledges support to LGBTQ+ students, and makes clear this discrimination will not be tolerated in the Congress.”
The resolution comes in advance of a national day of silence taking place on April 14, when LGBTQ+ students and allies around the country will protest the harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky Wednesday overrode the governor’s veto of an anti-trans law that bans access to gender-transition care for young people. Also on Wednesday, West Virginia’s governor signed a similar bill, while the passage of other bans appears imminent in Idaho and Missouri.
During the first three months of this year, more than 180 bills have been introduced in 37 states targeting LGBTQ+ youth, including book and curriculum bans and specific attacks on transgender children. The impact on LGTBQ+ students has been severe, as they are more likely than their peers to experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health impacts.
Hawaiʻi teachers laud senator’s proposal
Sarah “Mili” Milianta-Laffin, Genders & Sexualities Alliance Club faculty advisor at ʻIlima Intermediate School, said, “After the week we’ve experienced related to a local representative in ʻEwa calling rainbow flags in schools into question, it was refreshing and hopeful to see this example of true legislative leadership from Senator Brian Schatz.
“Teachers like me agree with Senator Schatz: ALL kids deserve to feel safe and seen at school,” said Milianta-Laffin, a computer science and STEM teacher at ʻIlima.
Schatz’s resolution has been endorsed by more than 100 organizations, including GLSEN, National Education Association, American School Counselors Association, National Association of School Psychologists, and more. The full list can be found here.
Jodi Kunimitsu, a Maui High math teacher and HSTA Human and Civil Rights Committee chair said, “We have a duty, as educators, to ensure that our students’ learning environment is one where they feel safe and respected. This means it needs to be free of discrimination, hate, and anything that attacks students’ dignity.
“It is important that we take every opportunity to stand up for our LGBTQ+ students during a time when so many elected officials across the country are trying to enact laws that allow such discrimination to happen in our schools. We need more elected officials to take stands against these attacks like Senator Schatz is doing with this resolution,” Kunimitsu added.
Schatz’s proposal is cosponsored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D, Oregon). A similar resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee (D, California) and Mark Takano (D, California).