|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
GLSEN responds as Sec. of Education stonewalls on policy on LGBTQ students
From a press release
2017-07-19
|
|
This article shared 885 times since Wed Jul 19, 2017
|
|
( New York, NY ) - July 18, 2017 - In a July 11 letter to Senator Patty Murray ( D-WA ), Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos claimed that the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, under President Obama, had overly broadened the scope of investigations into discrimination against students, leading to an inability to adequately investigate individual complaints. In the letter, DeVos also claimed that she saw herself as "returning the OCR to its role as a neutral, impartial investigative agency," alleging, without elaboration, that the agency had previously "value[d] one type of violation over another [and] one class of complainant over another." In a July 14 response, Sen. Murray reiterated previous demands for full documentation of policy changes made by the OCR, including: lists of complaints made by transgender students and victims of sexual harassment, and their current status; the complete investigative manual currently being used by the OCR; and more. To date, Sen. Murray has not received a response.
In response, Nathan Smith, GLSEN's Director of Public Policy, released the following statement:
"GLSEN fully supports Sen. Murray's call for answers and details as to any policy changes currently being made by the OCR under Sec. DeVos, and demands that these documents be released not only to Senate committee members, but to the public as well.
"In her letter, Sec. DeVos implies that investigating complaints into discrimination against transgender students is inherently biased, and privileges transgender students over other complainants. Nothing could be further from the truth. One cannot be 'neutral and impartial' by refusing to protect transgender students from harassment and discrimination.
"In the months since she rescinded the Obama Administration's Title IX guidance on transgender students, Sec. DeVos has repeatedly refused to answer questions about what the OCR's policy on this issue is going forward, as opposed to what it is not. The climate of uncertainty she has consequently created for transgender students is unacceptable. Trans students deserve to know what protections they have, and to know exactly why Sec. DeVos refuses to use the weight of OCR to protect them."
About GLSEN
GLSEN champions safe and affirming schools for all students. We envision a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach tens of thousands of K-12 schools across the United States, and our network of chapters brings GLSEN's expertise to their local communities. GLSEN's progress and impact have won support for our work at all levels of education in the United States and sparked an international movement to ensure equality for LGBTQ students and respect for all in schools. For more information on GLSEN's policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, public education, research and educator training programs, please visit glsen.org .
|
|
|
|
This article shared 885 times since Wed Jul 19, 2017
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Toward a golden hour: Advocate Rodrigo Heng-Lehinthen predicts trans-rights breakthrough in U.S. 2024-04-24 Two of the nation's biggest trans advocacy organizations are set to merge later this year. In early summer, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) will officially ...
|
| | LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project set to hold its second annual exhibition 2024-04-19 The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project will hold its second annual exhibition Friday, April 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Center on Addison, 806 W. Addison St., in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood. This free and open to the ...
|
| | HRC continues call for Title IX rules that protect transgender student-athletes 2024-04-19 --From a press release - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced it has finalized a Title IX rule that clarifies the scope of nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout educational activities ...
|
| | New Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students...to a point 2024-04-19 New Title IX guidelines finalized April 19 will protect the rights of LGBTQ+ students by federal law and further safeguards of victims of campus sexual assault, according to ABC News. But those protections don't extend to ...
|
| | WORLD Nigeria arrest, Chilean murderer, trans ban, Olivier Awards, marriage items 2024-04-19 Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC's) decision to arrest well-known transgender woman Idris Okuneye (also known as Bobrisky) over the practice of flaunting money has sparked questions among several ...
|
| | NATIONAL Ohio law blocked, Trevor Project, Rev. Troy Perry, ICE suit, Elon Musk 2024-04-19 In Ohio, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook temporarily blocked a Republican-backed state law banning gender-affirming care (such as puberty blockers and hormones) for transgender minors from ...
|
| | Schools are back in downsized Chicago Pride Parade after merging under 'welcoming schools' umbrella 2024-04-18 At least four schools are back in the Chicago Pride Parade lineup after they were previously told they wouldn't be able to march in this year's celebration due to new limitations enforced by the city. They ...
|
| | THEATER Blue in the Right Way's 'Women Beware Women' offers feminist, trans take on a troubling Jacobean tragedy 2024-04-18 "Problematic" is a great go-to adjective to describe Women Beware Women. This 1621 Jacobean tragedy is by English playwright Thomas Middleton, who is probably best remembered as a collaborator with William Shakespeare on their pessimistic tragedy ...
|
| | Appeals court overturns W. Va. trans sports ban 2024-04-17 On April 16, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with teen trans runner Becky Pepper-Jackson and overturned a West Virginia law that banned transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's sports teams in ...
|
| | Fed appeals panel ruling helps trans athlete 2024-04-17 A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday (April 16) that West Virginia's law barring transgender female students from participating on female student sports teams violates federal law. In a 2 to 1 decision, the panel ...
|
| | NAIA votes to ban trans women from athletics, affecting Chicago conference 2024-04-16 The National Association of Intercollegiate College on April 8 released a new policy on transgender athletes, banning trans women from competing under its jurisdiction. The new policy, which is set to go into effect Aug. 1, ...
|
| | A prom of their own: Chicago orgs host LGBTQ+ youth celebration 2024-04-15 On April 13, Center on Halsted hosted its queer prom, MasQUEERade, for folks enrolled in its youth services. Prom goers created their own masquerade masks thanks to craft stations at the door. The evening included a ...
|
| | LGBTQ+ film fest Queer Expression to feature Alexandra Billings in 'Queen Tut' 2024-04-12 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Pride Film Fest celebrates its second decade with a new name—QUEER EXPRESSION—and has announced its slate of LGBTQ+-themed feature, mid-length and short films for in-person and virtual events in April and May. QUEER EXPRESSI ...
|
| | WORLD Ugandan law, Japan, Cass report, Tegan and Sara, Varadkar done 2024-04-12 Ugandan LGBTQ+-rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on Uganda's government to repeal an anti-gay law that the country's Constitutional Court refused to nullify, PBS reported. Activist ...
|
| | NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools 2024-04-12 Twenty-four-year-old Latina trans woman and makeup artist Meraxes Medina was fatally shot in Los Angeles, according to the website them, citing The Los Angeles Times. Authorities told the Times they found Medina's broken fingernail and a ...
| |
|
|
|
|
| New Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students...to a point | | NATIONAL Ohio law blocked, Trevor Project, Rev. Troy Perry, ICE suit, Elon Musk | | SHOWBIZ Celine Dion, 'The People's Joker,' Billy Porter, Patti LuPone, 'Strange Way' | | LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project set to hold its second annual exhibition | | WORLD Nigeria arrest, Chilean murderer, trans ban, Olivier Awards, marriage items | |
|
|
|
|