A committee of 36 educators, gay rights activists, business representatives, and clergy released a report Wednesday to help public schools in California better address the issue of harassment based on sexual orientation, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The committee, which was organized by the state department of education, issued the report in response to a law passed last year that adds "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of groups legally protected from discrimination in schools. The report aims at finding ways for schools to comply with the new law. Among the recommendations are that teachers should freely discuss gays in history and portray images of gay people on classroom walls and that schools should create a clear rest room policy for transgendered students. "This is not about sex. This is about preventing young people from being victims," said state superintendent of schools Delaine Eastin. "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students are at high risk. We must end that." Eastin said her own nephew endured "four tough years" in high school because he is gay and that he spent his lunch hours "hiding out in the library" to avoid harassment from his classmates. The committee's full report can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/spbranch/safety.
Last updated 4/16/2001 by Jean Richter, richter@eecs.Berkeley.EDU