Congress Must Have Missed the Memo about Spirit Day

Yesterday was Spirit Day, when millions of people around the world wear purple in a show of organized support for LGBT youth and against bullying. The White House joined a host of public figures and celebrities in participating. But somehow Congress missed the memo.

Yesterday the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee let down our nation's LGBT youth, with the omission of two crucial amendments to an education bill that would have helped create safe school environments for LGBT students and put a stop to bullying based on sexual orientation.

Last night, the HELP Committee voted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill out of the committee, with a vote of 15 to 7. The bill lacked important protections for LGBT students, further disappointing an already-unhappy civil rights community.

First, The Student Non-Discrimination Act, introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) would have outlawed discrimination in public K-12 schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. During the Committee mark-up, Franken gave a passionate and moving speech on the importance of SNDA, and plans to offer it again on the floor of the Senate when the chamber as a whole takes up the ESEA. Second, the bipartisan (!!!) Safe School Improvement Act (SSIA), co-introduced by Sens. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), would have required schools to undertake bullying and harassment prevention, specifically including bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Both amendments were introduced and withdrawn without a Committee vote. That means that both amendments have missed their best shot of getting included in the final law.

The Committee’s failure to address bullying of LGBT students is extremely disappointing. And it shows an awful lack of spirit.