Title
Resolution Supporting the Proposed Michigan State Board of Education Guidelines on Learning Environments for LGBTQ Students
Body
Whereas, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) students nationally are targeted with physical violence and experience hostile school environments;
Whereas, According to the 2015 Michigan Youth Risk Behavior Survey, LGB students in Michigan are more than two times as likely as their peers to be threatened or injured with a weapon, with 41% of them reporting that they have been bullied on school property, are more than twice as likely as their peers to skip school because they feel unsafe, and are 41/2 times more likely to commit suicide;
Whereas, According to that same survey, LGB students in Michigan who are also disabled, transgender, or who belong to racial minorities are at an even greater risk of negative emotional, health, and educational achievement outcomes;
Whereas, Adverse health and educational consequences for transgender students are even greater than those for LGB students and, in a national report, 26 percent of transgender students were assaulted in school in the past year because of their gender expression;
Whereas, The US Department of Justice, US Department of Education, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the City of Ann Arbor, through its own Non-Discrimination Ordinance, all protect people from discrimination on the basis of sex/gender;
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor has historically played an important role in fighting discrimination, including amending its Non-Discrimination Ordinance to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression;
Whereas, On April 27, 2016, the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Ann Arbor City Council to support adoption of the Guidance on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ques...
Click here for full text