LGBTQ
Fair School Funding
LGBTQ
Equal Access
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This fact sheet highlights important comparisons between the 2020 and 2024 Title IX rule and explains the implications of recent legal challenges to the 2024 Title IX rule for students in schools across Pennsylvania.
The 2024 rule clarifies that Title IX prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics; reaffirms the rights of pregnant and parenting students; and broadens the protections for submitting complaints.
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Policies that discriminate against transgender students by prohibiting them from engaging in sports in accordance with their gender identity violate Title IX’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex. Affirming the identities of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth in sports participation is a critical part of improving physical and mental health outcomes for these students and allows them to learn and thrive in school.
Read this analysis urging school boards to comply with their clear legal obligations under federal and state law to reject policies that discriminate against transgender students and to affirmatively and proactively promote healthy, welcoming, and inclusive school environments where all students can thrive.
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There is no legal basis for a school district to prohibit students from using the school bathroom or locker room that aligns with their gender identity. To do so flies in the face of direct and controlling legal precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court and many federal courts, including in Pennsylvania, have recognized and affirmed that such discrimination is unlawful.
Read our statement urging all school districts to uphold their nondiscrimination obligations under the law and reject policies or practices that restrict students’ access to facilities based on sex or gender identity.
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Book bans are on the rise across the nation, and Pennsylvania ranks third among the states in terms of most books banned. Book bans not only deprive students of important learning opportunities; they directly undermine student self-esteem, further erase historically marginalized identities, and treat students of color and students who identify as LBGTQ+ as inferior and unwelcome.
Read our statement urging school boards to uphold the First Amendment and reject policies that unlawfully remove books from school libraries.
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Discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal. Courts have increasingly recognized the rights of students who identify as gay or transgender, as well as students who are nonbinary or gender-nonconforming (sometimes referred to as “gender-expansive”). Students who are LGBTQ or gender-expansive have the same rights as other students, and schools are required to intervene and correct policies or practices that discriminate against students based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
You can learn more here.
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The Eastern Lancaster County (Elanco) School District in early 2019 took the positive step of permitting transgender students to use the facilities with which they identify. The Education Law Center wrote an open letter of support explaining that the district has legal obligations to affirm transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) students. The letter also explained that welcoming, inclusive school climates enable TGNC students to thrive in their educational environments, whereas hostile and negative school climates are associated with severe educational and health consequences. Read our open letter.
Lancaster Online’s editorial board wrote an editorial in support of Elanco’s affirming practices. Unfortunately, soon after, the Elanco school board backed away from the district’s positive position.
LGBTQ
School to Prison Pipeline
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A new report recommending strategies for policy makers to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and address disparities in school discipline was issued by the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in April 2021. The report, which draws on testimony from 20 local and national experts at two public briefing sessions, is called “Disparate and Punitive Impact of Exclusionary Practices on Students of Color, Students with Disabilities and LGBTQ Students in Pennsylvania Public Schools.”
The report presents data illustrating the discriminatory nature of exclusionary discipline and its disruptive and harmful impact. Recommendations include banning exclusionary discipline for nonviolent offenses, implementing positive behavioral supports and trauma-informed restorative practices, improving data collection, and increasing funding to devote to creating positive school climates. ELC executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr served as a member of the advisory committee.