III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 134 

Supporting the goals and ideals of the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in 

Schools Initiative, a call to action to communities across the country 

to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights protections, 

and freedom from erasure for all students, particularly LGBTQI+ young 

people, in K–12 schools. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of the Rise Up for 

LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative, a call to action 

to communities across the country to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights protections, and 

freedom from erasure for all students, particularly 

LGBTQI+ young people, in K–12 schools. 

Whereas young people, teachers, school staff, families, and 

communities must be free from transphobia, homophobia, 

racism, sexism, and ableism in K–12 schools; 

Whereas K–12 schools must be safe and inclusive learning 

environments that include and affirm LGBTQI+ young 

people, especially those who are transgender, nonbinary, 


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•SRES 134 IS 

intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people 

with disabilities and those who are from communities 

that experience marginalization; 

Whereas, for more than 2 decades, Congress has supported 

a resolution for a National Day of Silence, and, for a decade, Congress has supported a resolution for No NameCalling Week; 

Whereas advocates have designated 2023 to 2024 as a time 

for communities to support the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ 

Youth in Schools Initiative in support of LGBTQI+ 

young people in schools by building on the goals of National Day of Silence and No Name-Calling Week to create a sustained call to action to demand equal educational opportunities, basic civil rights protections, and 

freedom from erasure for all students; 

Whereas LGBTQI+ young people frequently experience biasbased bullying and harassment, discrimination, and punitive discipline that increases the likelihood they will enter 

the school-to-prison pipeline; 

Whereas over 200 anti-LGBTQI+ education bills are introduced each year in State legislatures across the country, 

the majority of which specifically target transgender and 

nonbinary young people, including— 

(1) in Idaho, where on March 30, 2020, Governor 

Brad Little signed the first bill into law barring 

transgender students from playing on the school sports 

teams that correspond with their gender identity; 

(2) between 2021 and 2022, 17 additional States 

have enacted laws prohibiting transgender students from 

playing alongside their peers on school sports teams; 

(3) in Tennessee in 2021, Governor Bill Lee signed 

a bill that allows any student, parent, or employee to sue 


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•SRES 134 IS 

if they interact with a transgender person in a school 

bathroom or other facility; and 

(4) in 2022, Alabama and Oklahoma enacted laws 

that prevent transgender students from using the school 

bathroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity; 

Whereas GLSEN’s 2021 National School Climate Survey 

found that LGBTQI+ students who experienced 

LGBTQI+ discrimination at school in the past year, including being prevented from using the restroom that 

aligns with the student’s gender identity and being 

barred from playing on the school sports team that aligns 

with the student’s gender identity, were nearly 3 times as 

likely to have missed school in the past month, had lower 

GPAs, reported lower feelings of school belonging, and 

had higher levels of depression compared to LGBTQI+ 

students who had not experienced LGBTQI+ discrimination; 

Whereas LGBTQI+ young people are more likely than their 

non-LGBTQI+ peers to experience mental health concerns, including stress, anxiety, and depression; 

Whereas nearly half of LGBTQI+ young people seriously 

considered suicide in the last year, a trend that increases 

among Indigenous, Black, and multiracial LGBTQI+ 

young people; 

Whereas the GLSEN’s 2021 National School Climate Survey 

found that, among LGBTQI+ students who said that 

they were considering dropping out of school, 31.4 percent indicated that they were doing so because of the hostile climate created by gendered school policies and practices; 


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•SRES 134 IS 

Whereas States are passing or attempting to pass legislation 

that erases or censors LGBTQI+ individuals, history, 

and contributions from classroom literature and curricula, including— 

(1) in March 2022, in Florida, Governor Ron 

DeSantis signed HB 1557 into law censoring instruction 

related to LGBTQI+ people, commonly referred to as 

the ‘‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’’ law; 

(2) in May 2021, in Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey 

signed HB 2035, which would require parental consent 

for a child to learn about topics such as the United 

States Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 

576 U.S. 644 (2015), that the fundamental right to 

marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples; and 

(3) in 2021, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and Tennessee enacted laws that treat instruction related to 

LGBTQI+ individuals in history, science, the arts, or 

any academic class as a sensitive topic that requires parental notification and allows parents to opt their child 

out of such instruction; 

Whereas these laws harm students and force families to consider leaving their homes, as demonstrated in a Williams 

Institute report, which found that 56 percent of 

LGBTQI+ parents of students in Florida considered 

moving out of Florida and 16.5 percent have taken steps 

to move out of Florida because of HB 1557; 

Whereas States have gone farther by specifically targeting 

transgender students and their families with policies that 

attack mental health counseling and gender-affirming 

care for transgender students, including— 

(1) in 2022, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbot issued 

a directive to the Department of Family and Protective 


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•SRES 134 IS 

Services to investigate the parents of young people seeking gender-affirming care for child abuse, which purported to require school professionals to report parents 

who are supportive of their transgender child for investigation; and 

(2) by early March 2023, 34 States have introduced 

over 135 bills that prohibit or create barriers to the social 

affirmation of transgender and nonbinary students in 

schools, such as using a student’s chosen name and pronouns, regardless of the risk to the student’s safety, 

health, and well-being; 

Whereas 85 percent of transgender and nonbinary young people say that recent debates prompted by State legislation 

restricting the rights of transgender individuals have negatively impacted their mental health; 

Whereas every young person must have equal educational opportunity and freedom from the fear that their basic civil 

and educational rights will be taken away from them; 

Whereas young people who develop in positive school climates, free from bullying, harassment, and discrimination, report greater physical and psychological safety, 

greater mental well-being, and improved educational and 

life outcomes; 

Whereas positive school transformation must recognize that 

safety is too low of a bar and that all communities deserve to be acknowledged and affirmed in schools; 

Whereas students and families, educators, and community 

members in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Montana, 

Tennessee, Texas, and in all States and territories are 

advocating for safe and inclusive learning environments 

that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, particularly those 


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•SRES 134 IS 

who are transgender, nonbinary, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people with disabilities; and 

Whereas we must all demand the best possible future for all 

young people in schools, particularly those who identify 

as LGBTQI+, without exception: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of the Rise Up 

3 for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative in de4 manding the best possible future for all young peo5 ple in schools, particularly those who identify as 

6 LGBTQI+; and 

7 (2) encourages each State, territory, and local8 ity to support the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in 

9 Schools Initiative and adopt laws and policies that 

10 prohibit bias-based victimization, exclusion, and era11 sure. 

Æ 


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