Sen. Franken, Rep. Polis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Stop Bullying of LGBT Students

Statement

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to help protect public school students from bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), was first introduced by Sen. Franken and Rep. Polis in 2010. Their bill would establish a comprehensive federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, and would also forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior.

"Kids need to feel safe in their schools in order to learn," said Sen. Franken. "Right now, our civil rights laws explicitly protect children from bullying due to race, sex, disability, and national origin. But they don't stop discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Our legislation fixes this injustice and extends essential protections to LGBT youth in Minnesota and across the country. No student should have to dread going to school because they fear being bullied."

"Every single child deserves a quality education that is free from discrimination and prepares them for college and a career," said Rep. Polis. "It's simply unacceptable that in 2015, there are thousands of students who face bullying and harassment every day when they get to school simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity."

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