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John –
Across the South this fall, LGBTQ+ young people returned to school amid the most hostile anti-LGBTQ+ climate in recent history. That’s because several states, including North Carolina, Kentucky, and Florida, have adopted so-called “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” laws – draconian curriculum censorship policies that restrict discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in school, chill speech even more broadly, and in North Carolina’s case, require educators to “out” transgender students to parents, before the student may be ready.
These are cruel policies that harm all students, put educators in an impossible position, and turn the state into the chief perpetrator of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying in our schools. What’s more – they are flatly unconstitutional, clearly violating Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings.
This week our team at the Campaign for Southern Equality published a new legal memo detailing the many ways that North Carolina’s S.B. 49 (the state’s “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” law) creates a hostile educational environment and thus violates Title IX. We attended the Asheville City School Board meeting on Monday to speak out against S.B. 49 and show support for LGBTQ+ students. And news outlets across the state have covered the memo as school boards tackle how – or if – they will implement S.B. 49.
To support students, families, school staff and school leadership across the state, we have launched a new S.B. 49 organizing hub, which links to the legal memo, template letters that North Carolinians can send to local decision-makers, and news stories about the chaos caused by S.B. 49. Click here to check out the S.B. 49 Resource Hub, and spread the word widely.
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