Los Angeles Unified School District Educational Equity Compliance Office

1. Los Angeles Unified School DistrictEducational Equity Compliance Office LGBT Training Legal & Compliance Stephen Jimenez, Project 10 Specialist

2. Law & PolicyProtected Classes • Sex • Color • Race • Ethnicity • National Origin • Mental/Physical Disability • Religion • Actual or Perceived Sexual Orientation • Actual or Perceived Gender Identity/Expression

10. Law & PolicyCalifornia Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000AB 537 This law makes it illegal for public schools to: • Discriminate against students and employees on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. • Allow the school environment to become so hostile for students who are, or perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), where they are in effect denied equal access to an education. Ed Code § 200 – State Policy Purpose: equal rights and opportunities based on protected class status which includes gender and sexual orientation. Ed Code § 201 – Legislative Declarations: equal rights for educational participation, affirmative obligation to sexism and other bias, hostile free learning environment, prevention and intervention, and teaching and promoting tolerance and sensitivity.

11. Law & PolicyPreventiveStrategies to Respond to Anti-LGBT Harassment • Discussions on respect for all students – include all protected classes • District Position on LGBT – Acceptance. Sexual orientation is not a issue. • Educating students on sexual orientation – i.e. gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual • School employees demonstrating their comfort to discuss LGBT themes. • Integrating LGBT themes in the curriculum. • School employees making affirming comments about people who are LGBT. • Teachable moment when students use gay slurs. • Not tolerating gay slurs. • Guest speakers on LGBT bullying and harassment. • Discussions on news worth items regarding LGBT

12. Law & PolicyImplications of AB 537 Students • Rights to express sexual orientation and gender identity • Rights to discuss LGBT issues in or outside the classroom • Rights to attend a hostile free school environment Educators • Rights to express sexual orientation and gender identity • Rights to discuss LGBT issues in or outside the classroom • Rights to work in a hostile free environment • Rights to teach LGBT supplemental curriculum (K-12) • Rights to advocate on behalf of students who are bullied, harassed or discriminated against.

13. Comments, Questions & Answers • We don’t need Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs – gay people are accepted. LGBT youth, actual or perceived, are targeted far more than other protected classes. Participation in a GSA potentially targets students. • Don’t lump gay people in with other civil rights movements; it’s a lifestyle. The state of California has defined sexual orientation as a ‘protected class’ therefore it is a ‘civil rights issue’. • Gay is a choice. The courts in California have defined sexual orientation as an ‘immutable’ characteristic; meaning that it doesn’t change. • Can’t we just put them somewhere else? Segregating students by protected class is discrimination. • Can non-gay students tease each other about being ‘gay’? No. It is a violation of state law and district policy. • Can I affirm gay people? Absolutely, and it’s encouraged that we affirm ALL protected classes. • As a district employee, its my 1st Amendment right to say anything negative about gay people. False. As district employees, we protect all students. • When students say, “That’s so gay”, they aren’t targeting gay people. ‘Gay’ to young people means something ‘lame’ or ‘stupid’. Gay is defined as one’s sexual orientation. Gay also refers to people and a community. Gay can also be defined as culture. It is never defined as ‘lame or stupid’ and students are violating the rights of others by using gay as demeaning or something negative.

14. Gay 101: Definition of Terms • Closeted – concealing one’s sexual orientation. • Down Low – a term that primarily describes men who self-label as ‘heterosexual’ yet have same sex relationships. • Gay – used generically to refer to men and women who are attracted to persons of the same sex. Homosexual is one’s sexual orientation and is considered a ‘clinical term; not the appropriate label to use with gay persons. • Homophobia – a bias against anything or anyone who falls outside the heterosexual paradigm. As with any other prejudice, homophobia exists on a continuum. • Internalized Homophobia – self-loathing or the acceptance of anti-gay sentiments by a gay person about him/herself. • Intersex – a person who is born with partial sex organs, and many of the secondary sex characteristics of both male and female. Hermaphrodite is the term no longer used and considered offensive. • Pink Triangle – the symbol the Nazis used to identify gay men for horrific treatment. The pink triangle has been claimed by the LGBT community as a symbol of pride. • Queer – a generic term, commonly used by LGBT youth, to mean ‘not straight’. • Rainbow Flag – designed in 1978 as a symbol of LGBT pride. Each color represents a concept. • Sexual Orientation – describes the dimensions of one’s sexual attractions which includes homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Terms no longer used:sexual preference, gay lifestyle • Transgender – an ‘umbrella’ term used to describe a person whose physical appearance and gender expression as gender non-conforming regarding their biological sex. Transsexual is the description used within the Transgender community to describe someone who has undergone sexual re-assignment surgery. • Cross Dresser – a person, usually a heterosexual man, who dresses in women’s attire for relaxation or entertainment. Transvestite is the term no longer used and is considered offensive.

15. Law & PolicyGender Identity/Expression • Gender Expression: How one expresses masculine or feminine behavior through gestures, movement, and attire. • Gender Identity: One’s understanding or ‘feeling’ of being male or female regardless of one’s biological sex. Ed Code 210.7 – “Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.

16. Law & PolicyTransgender Accommodations • Names and Pronouns – Students have the right to be addressed by the pronoun and name of their choice. A student’s legal name cannot be changed on official documents and on the school’s computer system without a court order. • Attire – Students are allowed to choose the masculine or feminine attire that corresponds with their gender identity. • Expression – Students are allowed to express their gender (masculine or feminine) as they choose or that which corresponds with their identity. • *Restrooms – Generally, restrooms are not based on a student’s gender identity and are separated by sex. • *Locker Rooms – Generally, locker rooms are not based on a student’s gender identity and are separated by sex. Ed Code 231 – Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit any educational institution from maintaining separate toilet facilities, locker rooms, or living facilities for the different sexes, so long as comparable facilities are provided.

17. Law & PolicyCalifornia Constitution Privacy Rights for Students • District personnel do not have the right to disclose a student’s sexual orientation to others, including parents. • District personnel do not have the right to engage others and parents in a discussion abut a student’s gender identity and expression or make attempts to change it. • A student’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression may be disclosed to employees with a ‘need to know’ (principal, primary teacher (s), nurse, psychologist.

18. Law & Policy Federal Law Title IX Anti-Sex Discrimination Law (1972) • Equal treatment based on sex • *Co-Ed and integrated classrooms and activities • All academic courses, electives, activities and clubs are open to both sexes • *P.E. Classes – integrated instruction • *Sports – equal opportunity to participate for both sexes; equal and comparable facilities and funding Best Practices: gender neutral language; encouraging young women to participate in extra- curricular activities, sports and promoting higher learning in male dominated fields.

19. Law & PolicyFederal Law - Equal Access Act (1984) • All groups and or clubs have equal access to meeting spaces, PA system, school periodicals, bulletin board space etc. • Students have the right to form Gay Straight Alliance clubs • Groups and clubs are student initiated • Attendance is voluntary • Persons of the community that are not students may not ‘direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend meetings’.

20. Law & PolicyFreedom of Speech and Expression: Student’s Rights Ed Code 48907 (Publications, Essays) • Obscene, libelous or slanderous expression, distribution or postings. • Incite students to create unlawful acts on school premises or the violation of school rules. • Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school.

21. Law & PolicyFreedom of Speech and Expression: Student’s Rights Federal Law – Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) • Substantial disruption to the orderly conduct of the school. • Harmful speech that violates the rights of others; the use of ‘fighting words’ and epithets. • T-shirts • Buttons • Political Speech • Religious Speech • Protected Classes • Limited Open Forums

22. Law & Policy1st Amendment and Religion “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Establishment Clause The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. Quoting Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that the Establishment Clause was intended to accomplish this end by erecting a “wall of separation between church and state”.

23. Law & PolicyReligion and the Law The ‘Umbrella’ of Religion • Judaism • Christianity • Mohammedanism • Hinduism • Buddhism • Agnosticism • Paganism • Atheism • Satanism • All other forms of spirituality

26. Law & PolicyComplaint Officers • Title IX Complaint Officer – assistant principal, counselor or dean • Principal • Director • LAUSD Central Office – Educational Equity Compliance Office • School Board Formal Complaints • Uniform Complaint Procedures