The bill (sponsored by Sen. Margolis and Rep. Gottlieb) would amend Florida law to prohibit discrimination and harassment in schools based on real or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status and mental of physical disability. The prohibition would apply to all schools that receive sate funding. Specifically this bill would provide:
A policy that specifically prohibits discrimination and harassment in Florida’s schools on the basis of real or perceived identification or expression of race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, marital status, sex or gender, mental or physical handicap, sexual orientation;
Training of administrators and teachers on how to address harassment and discrimination when they occur and discussion of discrimination ad bias-related harassment in character education curriculum for students. Documentation and data collection to ensure the remedies are effective and to discover where the needs are most profound. Funding to implement the above policies with respect for local school districts.

2) Why is it necessary?

Numerous studies have documented the alarming prevalence of bias-related harassment in schools:
85% of female students have experienced some form of harassment. ii
70% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students have been verbally or physically harassed. iii
Teachers fail to intervene in 1 out of 3 incidents of harassment involving sexual minority youth. iv
43% of students in one state studied have been victims of racial harassment.

3) Aren’t students already protected from harassment by the law?
No. Florida Law dos not have any explicit prohibition on harassment of any kind in primary or secondary education. While some Florida localities have passed anti-discrimination and harassment policies for their schools, there is no statewide protection from harassment in schools under Florida state law.

4) What is the effect of in-school harassment on students?
Numerous studies have shown that, unchecked, school-based harassment leads to poor attendance and decreased academic performance.
Additionally, because they feel unsafe, victimized youth are pushed out of schools and into high-risk behavior. 22.2% of gay and lesbian youth report skipping school each month, because they fear for their safety on the school grounds, as opposed to 4.2% of the general student population. VI These students are also at an increased risk for substance abuse, dropping out of school, homelessness and suicide.

5) If this bill intends to protect all students, why does it list specific protected categories? Why not simply pass a blanket ban on harassment?
The bill list specific categories for many of the same reasons that other non-discrimination laws do; namely, that it is meaningless to prohibit a behavior, such as discrimination, without defining on what basis –such as race, gender, or national origin—such a prohibition rests. As the United States Supreme Court has stated "enumeration is the essential device used to make the duty not to discriminate concrete and to provide guidance for those who must comply."
Important as the prohibition is, the central goal of the bill truly is to "provide guidance" — to teachers through training on the prevention of bias-related harassment and to students through character education curriculum. In order to construct meaningful training curricula and to set standards of what constitutes harassing behavior, it is necessary to list the kinds of harassment that the bill is intended to prohibit. The specific forms the harassment and bias take must first be named and recognized before we can make sure that they no longer have a place in Florida’s schools and classrooms.

6)Why do we need a statewide mandate? / Why shouldn’t this problem be left to local school districts?
Passing this bill is not inconsistent with supporting the rights of local school boards to set their own policies. The bill simply sets minimum standards that each school district will be responsible for enforcing. The specifics of the teacher training and character education will be left for each county to devise in cooperation with the Department of Education and the State Board of Education.
Legislation passed in recent sessions has shown that on important safety issues, the Legislature has seen fit to take the lead in setting standards that assure the basic welfare of all students. Recently passed law mandate the creation of district-to-district emergency plans covering everything from natural disasters to bomb threats. Last year’s session saw the passing of a law that requires schools to make yearly self-assessments of overall safety practices and report their findings to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability. There is both precedent and good reason for Legislature to once again provide individual school districts with the leadership and firm guidelines needed in order to ensure the safety and well being of all of Florida’s students.

i Statewide Report of School Safety and Discipline Data, Florida Department of Education, 2001
ii Hostile Hallways, American Association of University Women, 2000
iii National School Climate Survey, GLSEN, 2000
iv Ibid.
v Statewide Climate Survey, Washington State Safe Schools Coalition, 1999
vi Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, Massachusetts Department of Education, 1997
vii Poll conducted by Lake Snell Perry and Associates, GLSEN, 2001

For more information on this issue, you may also contact:

Equality Florida
1222 S. Dale Mabry #652
Tampa, FL 33609
(P) 813-870-3735
(f) 813-870-1499
www.eqfl.org

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