House Democrat introduces a new bill to stop LGBTQ bullying

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi
Photo: YouTube screen capture

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) has introduced the State Taskforce Opportunity Program (STOP) Bullying Act, legislation directing the Department of Education to award grants to states that create anti-bullying task forces in K-12 public schools. The legislation is endorsed by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.

In his announcement yesterday, Krishnamoorthi said the bill’s goal was to “make schools safer for all children, regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.”

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The bill would incentivize states to establish task forces to address bullying in schools. The task forces would be made up of teachers, administrators, parents, students, counselors, child psychologists, lawyers, professionals from student support services, and” representatives from the state education agency focused on school improvement.”

In a press release, Krishnamoorthi said, “Every child should feel safe at school — period. Yet bullying and harassment continue to persist in middle and high schools nationwide. Hostile school environments have been proven to have a detrimental effect on the academic success and health of each student.”

His bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican-majority Senate and from a White House that has been hostile to LGBTQ protections in schools. In 2017, Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, rolled back Obama era protections for transgender students in schools….

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