ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL JOINS COALITIONS PROTECTING RIGHTS OF LGBTQ+ STUDENTS
PROTECTING RIGHTS OF LGBTQ+ STUDENTS
coalitions of attorneys general supporting LGBTQ+ students against discrimination in the classroom, filing legal briefs opposing an Indiana school district’s efforts to bar a transgender student from using the restroom consistent with the student’s gender identity and against Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which limits classroom discussions and has serious implications for LGBTQ+ students.
rights of LGBTQ+ youth,” Raoul said. “Discrimination has no place
in the classroom – period. I will continue to work with fellow
amicus brief in the case A.C. v. Metropolitan School District of
Martinsville opposing the Indiana school district’s efforts to bar a
13-year-old transgender male student from using the boys’ restroom. The brief — filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit — argues for the court to affirm a lower court ruling requiring th Metropolitan School District of Martinsville to allow the student to use the boys’ bathroom.
student from using a school restroom consistent with the student’s
gender identity violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 by denying transgender boys and girls access to the same common restrooms that other boys and girls may use. The amicus brief also points out that inclusive policies that maintain sex-segregated spaces while permitting transgender people to use a facility that aligns with their gender identity help to ease the stigma transgender people often experience, with positive effects for their educational and health outcomes. The attorneys’ general amicus brief demonstrates that protecting transgender people from discrimination yields broad benefits without compromising privacy or safety, and that nondiscriminatory restroom policies produce important benefits and pose no safety concerns.
opposing Florida’s recently-enacted “Don’t Say Gay” law which
prevents classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender
identity, posing a serious threat to LGBTQ+ students and families.
Florida’s new law outlaws “classroom instruction” on sexual
orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through the third
grade, while also requiring the state education agency to write
new classroom instructions for standards that must be followed
by fourth through 12th grade teachers. The new law does not,
however, define many of its key terms like “classroom instruction.”
Out of an abundance of caution, Florida instructors have
already begun censoring themselves, as the law allows a parent
to bring a civil claim against a school district to enforce its vague
prohibitions.
law is extreme and causes significant harms to students, parents,
teachers and other states. The coalition notes non-inclusive
educational environments have severe negative health impacts on
LGBTQ+ students, resulting in increased rates of mental health
disorders and suicide attempts. These harms extend to youth not
just in Florida but throughout the country.
challenged the new law in federal district court, seeking to
prevent its enforcement and alleging that it violates, among other
things, the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment.
Joining Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general
of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of
Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Oregon.
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