I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1652 

To end discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or 

gender identity in public schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. HAHN, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, 

Mr. HOLT, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 

SARBANES, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. ESTY, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 

SIRES, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, 

Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. CHU, Mr. WAXMAN, 

Mr. POCAN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. PRICE of 

North Carolina, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HIGGINS, 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GEORGE

MILLER of California, Mr. FARR, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. TSONGAS, 

Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

SCHNEIDER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KEATING, Mr. ELLISON, 

Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

WELCH, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. DOGGETT, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LEWIS, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. WATT, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. DELBENE, 

Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. 

EDWARDS, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Ms. 

KAPTUR, Mrs. NEGRETE MCLEOD, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. TAKANO, 

Ms. SPEIER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WALZ, Mr. KIND, Ms. 

FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. 

MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. PETERS

of California, Mr. GARCIA, Ms. WATERS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. 

ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PETERS of Michigan, and 

Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 


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A BILL 

To end discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual 

orientation or gender identity in public schools, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Non-Discrimi5 nation Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Public school students who are lesbian, gay, 

9 bisexual or transgender (LGBT), or are perceived to 

10 be LGBT, or who associate with LGBT people, have 

11 been and are subjected to pervasive discrimination, 

12 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio13 lence, and have been deprived of equal educational 

14 opportunities, in schools in every part of our Nation. 

15 (2) While discrimination, including harassment, 

16 bullying, intimidation and violence, of any kind is 

17 harmful to students and to our education system, 

18 actions that target students based on sexual orienta19 tion or gender identity represent a distinct and espe20 cially severe problem. 


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1 (3) Numerous social science studies dem2 onstrate that discrimination, including harassment, 

3 bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has 

4 contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, 

5 adverse health consequences, and academic under6 achievement among LGBT youth. 

7 (4) When left unchecked, discrimination, includ8 ing harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, 

9 in schools based on sexual orientation or gender 

10 identity can lead, and has led to, life-threatening vio11 lence and to suicide. 

12 (5) Public school students enjoy a variety of 

13 constitutional rights, including rights to equal pro14 tection, privacy, and free expression, which are in15 fringed when school officials engage in discrimina16 tory treatment or are indifferent to discrimination, 

17 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio18 lence, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 

19 identity. 

20 (6) While Federal statutory protections ex21 pressly address discrimination on the basis of race, 

22 color, sex, religion, disability, and national origin, 

23 Federal civil rights statutes do not expressly include 

24 ‘‘sexual orientation’’ or ‘‘gender identity’’. As a re25 sult, students and parents have often had limited 


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1 legal recourse to redress for discrimination on the 

2 basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to ensure that all students have access to 

5 public education in a safe environment free from dis6 crimination, including harassment, bullying, intimi7 dation and violence, on the basis of sexual orienta8 tion or gender identity; 

9 (2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi10 tion of discrimination in public schools based on ac11 tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden12 tity; 

13 (3) to provide meaningful and effective rem14 edies for discrimination in public schools based on 

15 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 

16 identity; 

17 (4) to invoke congressional powers, including 

18 but not limited to the power to enforce the 14th 

19 Amendment to the Constitution and to provide for 

20 the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article 

21 I of the Constitution and the power to enact all laws 

22 necessary and proper for the execution of the fore23 going powers pursuant to section 8 of article I of the 

24 Constitution, in order to prohibit discrimination in 


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1 public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or 

2 gender identity; and 

3 (5) to allow the Department of Education to ef4 fectively combat discrimination based on sexual ori5 entation or gender identity in public schools through 

6 regulation and enforcement, as the Department has 

7 issued regulations under and enforced title IX of the 

8 Education Amendments of 1972 and other non9 discrimination laws in a manner that effectively ad10 dresses discrimination. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this Act: 

13 (1) PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘pro14 gram or activity’’ and ‘‘program’’ have same mean15 ings given such terms as applied under section 606 

16 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d– 

17 4a) to the operations of public entities under para18 graph (2)(B) of such section. 

19 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 

20 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear21 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac22 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 

23 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 

24 (3) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘harassment’’ 

25 means conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 


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1 or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate 

2 in or benefit from a public school education program 

3 or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive edu4 cational environment at a public school, including 

5 acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, in6 timidation, or hostility, if such conduct is based 

7 on— 

8 (A) a student’s actual or perceived sexual 

9 orientation or gender identity; or 

10 (B) the actual or perceived sexual orienta11 tion or gender identity of a person or persons 

12 with whom a student associates or has associ13 ated. 

14 (4) PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—The term ‘‘public 

15 schools’’ means public elementary and secondary 

16 schools, including local educational agencies, edu17 cational service agencies, and State educational 

18 agencies, as defined in section 9101 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

20 (5) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 

21 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

22 or bisexuality. 

23 (6) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means an 

24 individual who is enrolled in a public school or who, 

25 regardless of official enrollment status, attends 


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1 classes or participates in a public school’s programs 

2 or educational activities. 

3 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION; EXCEP4 TIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—No student shall, on the basis of 

6 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity 

7 of such individual or of a person with whom the student 

8 associates or has associated, be excluded from participa9 tion in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to 

10 discrimination under any program or activity receiving 

11 Federal financial assistance. 

12 (b) HARASSMENT.—For purposes of this Act, dis13 crimination includes, but is not limited to, harassment of 

14 a student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual ori15 entation or gender identity of such student or of a person 

16 with whom the student associates or has associated. 

17 (c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

18 (1) PROHIBITION.—No person shall be excluded 

19 from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or 

20 be subjected to discrimination, retaliation, or re21 prisal under any program or activity receiving Fed22 eral financial assistance based on his or her opposi23 tion to conduct made unlawful by this Act. 


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1 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub2 section, ‘‘opposition to conduct made unlawful by 

3 this Act’’ includes, but is not limited to— 

4 (A) opposition to conduct reasonably be5 lieved to be made unlawful by this Act, 

6 (B) any formal or informal report, whether 

7 oral or written, to any governmental entity, in8 cluding public schools and employees thereof, 

9 regarding conduct made unlawful by this Act or 

10 reasonably believed to be made unlawful by this 

11 Act, 

12 (C) participation in any investigation, pro13 ceeding, or hearing related to conduct made un14 lawful by this Act or reasonably believed to be 

15 made unlawful by this Act, and 

16 (D) assistance or encouragement provided 

17 to any other person in the exercise or enjoy18 ment of any right granted or protected by this 

19 Act, 

20 if in the course of that expression, the person in21 volved does not purposefully provide information 

22 known to be false to any public school or other gov23 ernmental entity regarding a violation, or alleged 

24 violation, of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT; RE2 PORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 

3 Each Federal department and agency which is em4 powered to extend Federal financial assistance to any edu5 cation program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or con6 tract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is 

7 authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of sec8 tion 4 of this Act with respect to such program or activity 

9 by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applica10 bility which shall be consistent with achievement of the 

11 objectives of the Act authorizing the financial assistance 

12 in connection with which the action is taken. No such rule, 

13 regulation, or order shall become effective unless and until 

14 approved by the President. Compliance with any require15 ment adopted pursuant to this section may be effected— 

16 (1) by the termination of or refusal to grant or 

17 to continue assistance under such program or activ18 ity to any recipient as to whom there has been an 

19 express finding on the record, after opportunity for 

20 hearing, of a failure to comply with such require21 ment, but such termination or refusal shall be lim22 ited to the particular political entity, or part thereof, 

23 or other recipient as to whom such a finding has 

24 been made, and shall be limited in its effect to the 

25 particular program, or part thereof, in which such 

26 noncompliance has been so found, or 


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1 (2) by any other means authorized by law, 

2 except that no such action shall be taken until the depart3 ment or agency concerned has advised the appropriate per4 son or persons of the failure to comply with the require5 ment and has determined that compliance cannot be se6 cured by voluntary means. In the case of any action termi7 nating, or refusing to grant or continue, assistance be8 cause of failure to comply with a requirement imposed 

9 pursuant to this section, the head of the Federal depart10 ment or agency shall file with the committees of the House 

11 and Senate having legislative jurisdiction over the pro12 gram or activity involved a full written report of the cir13 cumstances and the grounds for such action. No such ac14 tion shall become effective until 30 days have elapsed after 

15 the filing of such report. 

16 SEC. 6. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

17 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Subject to subsection (c) of 

18 this section, an aggrieved individual may assert a violation 

19 of this Act in a judicial proceeding. Aggrieved persons may 

20 be awarded all appropriate relief, including but not limited 

21 to equitable relief, compensatory damages, cost of the ac22 tion, and remedial action. 

23 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not 

24 be construed to preclude an aggrieved individual from ob25 taining other remedies under any other provision of law 


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1 or to require such individual to exhaust any administrative 

2 complaint process or notice-of-claim requirement before 

3 seeking redress under this section. 

4 (c) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—For actions brought 

5 pursuant to this section, the statute of limitations period 

6 shall be determined in accordance with section 1658(a) of 

7 title 28 of the United States Code. The tolling of any such 

8 limitations period shall be determined in accordance with 

9 the law governing actions under section 1979 of the Re10 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) in the forum State. 

11 SEC. 7. STATE IMMUNITY. 

12 (a) STATE IMMUNITY.—A State shall not be immune 

13 under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the 

14 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation 

15 of this Act. 

16 (b) WAIVER.—A State’s receipt or use of Federal fi17 nancial assistance for any program or activity of a State 

18 shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 

19 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a 

20 suit brought by an aggrieved individual for a violation of 

21 section 4 of this Act. 

22 (c) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola23 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law 

24 and in equity) are available for such a violation to the 

25 same extent as such remedies are available for such a vioVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Apr 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1652.IH H1652

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1 lation in the suit against any public or private entity other 

2 than a State. 

3 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

4 Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

5 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Student Non6 discrimination Act of 2013,’’ after ‘‘Religious Land Use 

7 and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,’’. 

8 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

9 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

10 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to pre11 empt, invalidate, or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or 

12 legal standards available to victims of discrimination or 

13 retaliation under any other Federal law or law of a State 

14 or political subdivision of a State, including title VI of the 

15 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title 

16 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

17 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

18 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act 

19 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), or section 1979 of the 

20 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983). The obligations im21 posed by this Act are in addition to those imposed by title 

22 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

23 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

24 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and the Americans with Disabilities 

25 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 


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1 (b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS AND RE2 LIGIOUS STUDENT GROUPS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

3 construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the 

4 rights available to individuals or groups under, other Fed5 eral laws that establish protections for freedom of speech 

6 and expression, such as legal standards and rights avail7 able to religious and other student groups under the 1st 

8 Amendment to the Constitution and the Equal Access Act 

9 (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 10. SEVERABILITY. 

11 If any provision of this Act, or any application of such 

12 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un13 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the applica14 tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 

15 shall not be affected. 

16 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act and shall not apply to conduct 

19 occurring before the effective date of this Act. 

Æ 


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