(GayWebSource.com) – October 19, 2012 • Aurora, IL – The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), Illinois’ leading statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights advocacy organization, has learned that the East Aurora School Board struck down its new policy addressing the needs of the school’s transgender students, one that it had unanimously approved earlier this week. This decision was made after pressure was put on the school board from anti-LGBT organizations and individuals that opposed protections for the school’s transgender students.
If upheld, this policy would have had an enormous impact on the lives of the school’s transgender and gender non-conforming students, a change that our youth desperately need. According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 90% of transgender youth reported feeling unsafe in their school because of their gender identity and 63% because of their gender expression. These statistics reinforce the obligation towards tolerance of diversity that needs to be set by school administrators and officials within schools through school policies.
On Friday, The Civil Rights Agenda met with members of the school board, the lawyer for the Board, and other representatives to discuss rescinding the policy, which TCRA hoped the board members would vote to uphold. Executive Director for The Civil Rights Agenda, Anthony Martinez, stood before the school board and presented testimony. The instillation and review of policies 715.13 and 715.13R occurred on LGBT Spirit Day, which is by no means happenstance. Spirit Day around the world unites individuals in support of LGBT youth and anti-bullying campaigns through wearing purple. The day is a celebration of our nation’s diversity and a call to action for our schools to promote the safety of our youth, a protection that statistics show we must do more to achieve.
“The board’s decision to rescind the policy threatens the safety of our Transgender students and students may not conform to gender norms,” stated Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of The Civil Rights Agenda. “We will now take the necessary steps toward overturning this decision. Health, safety, and wellness are human rights entitled to all individuals regardless of gender expression or identity and must be upheld in order to promote and provide a safe space for transgender and gender non-conforming students in the East Aurora Public Schools.”
“The high percentage of LGBT related bullying and violence is not lost on the Illinois General Assembly,” said Rick Garcia, Policy Advisor for The Civil Rights Agenda. “They have taken the appropriate legal steps to ensure individual safety, which in turn, directly affects the Board, and this specific policy. The Illinois Human Rights Act mandates full protection for all individuals based upon his or her actual or perceived gender-related identity, whether or not traditionally associated with the person’s designated gender at birth. The Act makes clear that elementary and secondary schools are considered places of public accommodation. As a public accommodation, this school district is prohibited from denying or refusing a transgender individual the full and equal enjoyment of the facilities, goods and services provided to all students.”
About The Civil Rights Agenda
The Civil Rights Agenda’s mission is to maintain and increase individual rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) citizens in Illinois through inter-generational volunteerism and community-driven project-based education, statewide coalition and network building, and leadership in supporting underserved. Please find us online at www.jointcra.org or email us at info@jointcra.org.
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Media Contact
Anthony Martinez, Executive Director – The Civil Rights Agenda
312-863-9632 – mobile
Rick Garcia, Policy Advisor – The Civil RIghts Agenda
312.560.0405 – mobile
Media Provided by the www.GayWebSource.com – Gay Media and Press Network.
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