60 House Members Send Letter to Secretary Duncan Regarding Protection of LGBT Students

House Members Send Letter to Secretary Duncan Regarding Protection of LGBT Students

On Tuesday, 60 members of the House signed a letter http://polis.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_to_sec._duncan_re_lgbt_discrimination_final_signed.pdf to Education Secretary Arne Duncan urging him to publish guidelines on how LGBT students are protected under Title IX. The representatives cite statistics about LGBT students in school, explaining that students who identify as LGBT are much more likely to be bullied at school and therefore more likely to experience depression and lower GPAs. The letter also commended Secretary Duncan on the Department of Education's Title IX resource guide http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-title-ix-coordinators-guide-201504.pdf released earlier this year. Title IX provides protections for LGBT students by requiring schools to respond to reports of harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

AAUW is excited that student civil rights are getting the attention they deserve under Title IX, and we can help even more kids! Pledge http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50796/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14551&killorg=True to deliver resources to your Title IX coordinator and ensure that students everywhere have an equal opportunity to learn.