I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 846 

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 

FEBRUARY 10, 2015 

Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 2015’’. 

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 


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

2 been and are subjected to pervasive discrimination, 

3 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio4 lence, and have been deprived of equal educational 

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

6 (2) While discrimination, including harassment, 

7 bullying, intimidation and violence, of any kind is 

8 harmful to students and to our education system, 

9 actions that target students based on sexual orienta10 tion or gender identity represent a distinct and espe11 cially severe problem. 

12 (3) Numerous social science studies dem13 onstrate that discrimination, including harassment, 

14 bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has 

15 contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, 

16 adverse health consequences, and academic under17 achievement among LGBT youth. 

18 (4) When left unchecked, discrimination, includ19 ing harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, 

20 in schools based on sexual orientation or gender 

21 identity can lead, and has led to, life-threatening vio22 lence and to suicide. 

23 (5) Public school students enjoy a variety of 

24 constitutional rights, including rights to equal pro25 tection, privacy, and free expression, which are inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H846.IH H846

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1 fringed when school officials engage in discrimina2 tory treatment or are indifferent to discrimination, 

3 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio4 lence, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 

5 identity. 

6 (6) While Federal statutory protections ex7 pressly address discrimination on the basis of race, 

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

9 Federal civil rights statutes do not expressly include 

10 ‘‘sexual orientation’’ or ‘‘gender identity’’. As a re11 sult, students and parents have often had limited 

12 legal recourse to redress for discrimination on the 

13 basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

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

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

16 public education in a safe environment free from dis17 crimination, including harassment, bullying, intimi18 dation and violence, on the basis of sexual orienta19 tion or gender identity; 

20 (2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi21 tion of discrimination in public schools based on ac22 tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden23 tity; 

24 (3) to provide meaningful and effective rem25 edies for discrimination in public schools based on 


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1 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 

2 identity; 

3 (4) to invoke congressional powers, including 

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

5 Amendment to the Constitution and to provide for 

6 the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article 

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

8 necessary and proper for the execution of the fore9 going powers pursuant to section 8 of article I of the 

10 Constitution, in order to prohibit discrimination in 

11 public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or 

12 gender identity; and 

13 (5) to allow the Department of Education to ef14 fectively combat discrimination based on sexual ori15 entation or gender identity in public schools through 

16 regulation and enforcement, as the Department has 

17 issued regulations under and enforced title IX of the 

18 Education Amendments of 1972 and other non19 discrimination laws in a manner that effectively ad20 dresses discrimination. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 For purposes of this Act: 

23 (1) PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘pro24 gram or activity’’ and ‘‘program’’ have same mean25 ings given such terms as applied under section 606 


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

2 4a) to the operations of public entities under para3 graph (2)(B) of such section. 

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

5 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear6 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac7 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 

8 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 

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

10 means conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 

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

12 in or benefit from a public school education program 

13 or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive edu14 cational environment at a public school, including 

15 acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, in16 timidation, or hostility, if such conduct is based 

17 on— 

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

19 orientation or gender identity; or 

20 (B) the actual or perceived sexual orienta21 tion or gender identity of a person or persons 

22 with whom a student associates or has associ23 ated. 

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

25 schools’’ means public elementary and secondary 


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1 schools, including local educational agencies, edu2 cational service agencies, and State educational 

3 agencies, as defined in section 9101 of the Elemen4 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

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

6 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

7 or bisexuality. 

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

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

10 regardless of official enrollment status, attends 

11 classes or participates in a public school’s programs 

12 or educational activities. 

13 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION; EXCEP14 TIONS. 

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

16 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity 

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

18 associates or has associated, be excluded from participa19 tion in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to 

20 discrimination under any program or activity receiving 

21 Federal financial assistance. 

22 (b) HARASSMENT.—For purposes of this Act, dis23 crimination includes, but is not limited to, harassment of 

24 a student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual oriVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H846.IH H846

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1 entation or gender identity of such student or of a person 

2 with whom the student associates or has associated. 

3 (c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

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

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

6 be subjected to discrimination, retaliation, or re7 prisal under any program or activity receiving Fed8 eral financial assistance based on his or her opposi9 tion to conduct made unlawful by this Act. 

10 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub11 section, ‘‘opposition to conduct made unlawful by 

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

13 (A) opposition to conduct reasonably be14 lieved to be made unlawful by this Act, 

15 (B) any formal or informal report, whether 

16 oral or written, to any governmental entity, in17 cluding public schools and employees thereof, 

18 regarding conduct made unlawful by this Act or 

19 reasonably believed to be made unlawful by this 

20 Act, 

21 (C) participation in any investigation, pro22 ceeding, or hearing related to conduct made un23 lawful by this Act or reasonably believed to be 

24 made unlawful by this Act, and 


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1 (D) assistance or encouragement provided 

2 to any other person in the exercise or enjoy3 ment of any right granted or protected by this 

4 Act, 

5 if in the course of that expression, the person in6 volved does not purposefully provide information 

7 known to be false to any public school or other gov8 ernmental entity regarding a violation, or alleged 

9 violation, of this Act. 

10 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT; RE11 PORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 

12 Each Federal department and agency which is em13 powered to extend Federal financial assistance to any edu14 cation program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or con15 tract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is 

16 authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of sec17 tion 4 of this Act with respect to such program or activity 

18 by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applica19 bility which shall be consistent with achievement of the 

20 objectives of the Act authorizing the financial assistance 

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

22 regulation, or order shall become effective unless and until 

23 approved by the President. Compliance with any require24 ment adopted pursuant to this section may be effected— 


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

2 to continue assistance under such program or activ3 ity to any recipient as to whom there has been an 

4 express finding on the record, after opportunity for 

5 hearing, of a failure to comply with such require6 ment, but such termination or refusal shall be lim7 ited to the particular political entity, or part thereof, 

8 or other recipient as to whom such a finding has 

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

10 particular program, or part thereof, in which such 

11 noncompliance has been so found, or 

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

13 except that no such action shall be taken until the depart14 ment or agency concerned has advised the appropriate per15 son or persons of the failure to comply with the require16 ment and has determined that compliance cannot be se17 cured by voluntary means. In the case of any action termi18 nating, or refusing to grant or continue, assistance be19 cause of failure to comply with a requirement imposed 

20 pursuant to this section, the head of the Federal depart21 ment or agency shall file with the committees of the House 

22 and Senate having legislative jurisdiction over the pro23 gram or activity involved a full written report of the cir24 cumstances and the grounds for such action. No such acVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H846.IH H846

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1 tion shall become effective until 30 days have elapsed after 

2 the filing of such report. 

3 SEC. 6. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

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

5 this section, an aggrieved individual may assert a violation 

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

7 be awarded all appropriate relief, including but not limited 

8 to equitable relief, compensatory damages, cost of the ac9 tion, and remedial action. 

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

11 be construed to preclude an aggrieved individual from ob12 taining other remedies under any other provision of law 

13 or to require such individual to exhaust any administrative 

14 complaint process or notice-of-claim requirement before 

15 seeking redress under this section. 

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

17 pursuant to this section, the statute of limitations period 

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

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

20 limitations period shall be determined in accordance with 

21 the law governing actions under section 1979 of the Re22 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) in the forum State. 

23 SEC. 7. STATE IMMUNITY. 

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

25 under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the 


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1 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation 

2 of this Act. 

3 (b) WAIVER.—A State’s receipt or use of Federal fi4 nancial assistance for any program or activity of a State 

5 shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 

6 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a 

7 suit brought by an aggrieved individual for a violation of 

8 section 4 of this Act. 

9 (c) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola10 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law 

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

12 same extent as such remedies are available for such a vio13 lation in the suit against any public or private entity other 

14 than a State. 

15 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

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

17 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Student Non18 discrimination Act of 2013,’’ after ‘‘Religious Land Use 

19 and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,’’. 

20 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

21 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

22 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to pre23 empt, invalidate, or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or 

24 legal standards available to victims of discrimination or 

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


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

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

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

4 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

5 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act 

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

7 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983). The obligations im8 posed by this Act are in addition to those imposed by title 

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

10 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

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

13 (b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS AND RE14 LIGIOUS STUDENT GROUPS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

15 construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the 

16 rights available to individuals or groups under, other Fed17 eral laws that establish protections for freedom of speech 

18 and expression, such as legal standards and rights avail19 able to religious and other student groups under the 1st 

20 Amendment to the Constitution and the Equal Access Act 

21 (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.). 

22 SEC. 10. SEVERABILITY. 

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

24 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un25 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H846.IH H846

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1 tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 

2 shall not be affected. 

3 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

6 occurring before the effective date of this Act. 

Æ 


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