Today, the
Missouri Progressive Caucus and other Democratic State Representatives
call on
Speaker Tilley, Floor Leader Tim Jones, Rep. Steve Cookson and Rep. John Diehl
to withdraw their support of House Bill 2051.
"Public
outrage has shown us that we are not doing enough to protect all students in
schools. Students, teachers,
administrators and those involved in the care of students all support being
able to address sexual orientation and gender identity openly and compassionately,”
said State Rep. Stacey Newman (D-Richmond Heights), chair of the House Progressive
Caucus.
Lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendered students in Missouri commonly hear homophobic,
sexist and negative remarks about themselves in schools. These remarks come from both other students
and staff members. In fact most of these
students have been victimized and bullied in school. The majority of these incidents are not
reported to adult authorities.
63% of
students who were harassed or assaulted in school never reported it to school
staff and 48% never told a family member about the incident. Among students who did report incidents to
school authorities, only 12% said that reporting resulted in effective
intervention by staff.
Newman
continued, "I applaud and join with 37 of my colleagues in the House in
standing up for all students. We urge the bill sponsors to withdraw HB2051
which would have very serious ramifications if passed.”
Bullying
or harassment of any student has no place in Missouri schools. Turning our back
on Missouri students to advance a political agenda is mean-spirited. HB2051
is simply wrong.
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