I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4530 

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 

JANUARY 27, 2010 

Mr. POLIS of Colorado (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. 

BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 

Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CHU, Ms. 

CLARKE, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of 

California, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

FARR, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Florida, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, 

Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. 

MEEKS of New York, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER of New York, 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 

LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. STARK, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 

WELCH, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, Mr. KUCINICH, and Ms. KILROY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Non3 discrimination Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

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

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

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

9 been and are subjected to pervasive discrimination, 

10 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio11 lence, and have been deprived of equal educational 

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

13 (2) While discrimination, including harassment, 

14 bullying, intimidation and violence, of any kind is 

15 harmful to students and to our education system, 

16 actions that target students based on sexual orienta17 tion or gender identity represent a distinct and espe18 cially severe problem. 

19 (3) Numerous social science studies dem20 onstrate that discrimination, including harassment, 

21 bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has 

22 contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, 

23 adverse health consequences, and academic under24 achievement among LGBT youth. 

25 (4) When left unchecked, discrimination, includ26 ing harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, 


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1 in schools based on sexual orientation or gender 

2 identity can lead, and has lead to, life-threatening 

3 violence and to suicide. 

4 (5) Public school students enjoy a variety of 

5 constitutional rights, including rights to equal pro6 tection, privacy, and free expression, which are in7 fringed when school officials engage in discrimina8 tory treatment or are indifferent to discrimination, 

9 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio10 lence, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 

11 identity. 

12 (6) While Federal statutory protections ex13 pressly address discrimination on the basis of race, 

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

15 Federal civil rights statutes do not expressly include 

16 ‘‘sexual orientation’’ or ‘‘gender identity’’. As a re17 sult, students and parents have often had limited 

18 legal recourse to redress for discrimination on the 

19 basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

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

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

22 public education in a safe environment free from dis23 crimination, including harassment, bullying, intimi24 dation and violence, on the basis of sexual orienta25 tion or gender identity; 


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1 (2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi2 tion of discrimination in public schools based on ac3 tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden4 tity; 

5 (3) to provide meaningful and effective rem6 edies for discrimination in public schools based on 

7 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 

8 identity; and 

9 (4) to invoke congressional powers, including 

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

11 Amendment to the Constitution and to provide for 

12 the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article 

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

14 necessary and proper for the execution of the fore15 going powers pursuant to section 8 of article I of the 

16 Constitution, in order to prohibit discrimination in 

17 public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or 

18 gender identity. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For purposes of this Act: 

21 (1) PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘pro22 gram or activity’’ and ‘‘program’’ have same mean23 ings given such terms as applied under section 606 

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


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1 4a) to the operations of public entities under para2 graph (2)(B) of such section. 

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

4 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear5 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac6 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 

7 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 

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

9 means conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 

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

11 in or benefit from a public school education program 

12 or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive edu13 cational environment at a public school, including 

14 acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, in15 timidation, or hostility, if such conduct is based 

16 on— 

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

18 orientation or gender identity; or 

19 (B) the actual or perceived sexual orienta20 tion or gender identity of a person or persons 

21 with whom a student associates or has associ22 ated. 

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

24 schools’’ means public elementary and secondary 

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1 cational service agencies, and State educational 

2 agencies, as defined in section 9101 of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

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

5 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

6 or bisexuality. 

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

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

9 regardless of official enrollment status, attends 

10 classes or participates in a public school’s programs 

11 or educational activities. 

12 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION; EXCEP13 TIONS. 

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

15 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity 

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

17 associates or has associated, be excluded from participa18 tion in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to 

19 discrimination under any program or activity receiving 

20 Federal financial assistance. 

21 (b) HARASSMENT.—For purposes of this Act, dis22 crimination includes, but is not limited to, harassment of 

23 a student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual ori24 entation or gender identity of such student or of a person 

25 with whom the student associates or has associated. 


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1 (c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

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

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

4 be subjected to discrimination, retaliation, or re5 prisal under any program or activity receiving Fed6 eral financial assistance based on his or her opposi7 tion to conduct made unlawful by this Act. 

8 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub9 section, ‘‘opposition to conduct made unlawful by 

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

11 (A) opposition to conduct reasonably be12 lieved to be made unlawful by this Act, 

13 (B) any formal or informal report, whether 

14 oral or written, to any governmental entity, in15 cluding public schools and employees thereof, 

16 regarding conduct made unlawful by this Act or 

17 reasonably believed to be made unlawful by this 

18 Act, 

19 (C) participation in any investigation, pro20 ceeding, or hearing related to conduct made un21 lawful by this Act or reasonably believed to be 

22 made unlawful by this Act, and 

23 (D) assistance or encouragement provided 

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1 ment of any right granted or protected by this 

2 Act, 

3 if in the course of that expression, the person in4 volved does not purposefully provide information 

5 known to be false to any public school or other gov6 ernmental entity regarding a violation, or alleged 

7 violation, of this Act. 

8 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT; RE9 PORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 

10 Each Federal department and agency which is em11 powered to extend Federal financial assistance to any edu12 cation program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or con13 tract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is 

14 authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of sec15 tion 4 of this Act with respect to such program or activity 

16 by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applica17 bility which shall be consistent with achievement of the 

18 objectives of the Act authorizing the financial assistance 

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

20 regulation, or order shall become effective unless and until 

21 approved by the President. Compliance with any require22 ment adopted pursuant to this section may be effected— 

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

24 to continue assistance under such program or activ25 ity to any recipient as to whom there has been an 


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1 express finding on the record, after opportunity for 

2 hearing, of a failure to comply with such require3 ment, but such termination or refusal shall be lim4 ited to the particular political entity, or part thereof, 

5 or other recipient as to whom such a finding has 

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

7 particular program, or part thereof, in which such 

8 noncompliance has been so found, or 

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

10 except that no such action shall be taken until the depart11 ment or agency concerned has advised the appropriate per12 son or persons of the failure to comply with the require13 ment and has determined that compliance cannot be se14 cured by voluntary means. In the case of any action termi15 nating, or refusing to grant or continue, assistance be16 cause of failure to comply with a requirement imposed 

17 pursuant to this section, the head of the Federal depart18 ment or agency shall file with the committees of the House 

19 and Senate having legislative jurisdiction over the pro20 gram or activity involved a full written report of the cir21 cumstances and the grounds for such action. No such ac22 tion shall become effective until 30 days have elapsed after 

23 the filing of such report. 


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1 SEC. 6. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

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

3 this section, an aggrieved individual may assert a violation 

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

5 be awarded all appropriate relief, including but not limited 

6 to equitable relief, compensatory damages, cost of the ac7 tion, and remedial action. 

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

9 be construed to preclude an aggrieved individual from ob10 taining other remedies under any other provision of law 

11 or to require such individual to exhaust any administrative 

12 complaint process or notice-of-claim requirement before 

13 seeking redress under this section. 

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

15 pursuant to this section, the statute of limitations period 

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

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

18 limitations period shall be determined in accordance with 

19 the law governing actions under section 1979 of the Re20 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) in the forum State. 

21 SEC. 7. STATE IMMUNITY. 

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

23 under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the 

24 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation 

25 of this Act. 


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1 (b) WAIVER.—A State’s receipt or use of Federal fi2 nancial assistance for any program or activity of a State 

3 shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 

4 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a 

5 suit brought by an aggrieved individual for a violation of 

6 section 4 of this Act. 

7 (c) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola8 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law 

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

10 same extent as such remedies are available for such a vio11 lation in the suit against any public or private entity other 

12 than a State. 

13 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

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

15 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Student Non16 discrimination Act of 2010,’’ after ‘‘Religious Land Use 

17 and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,’’. 

18 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

19 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

20 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to pre21 empt, invalidate, or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or 

22 legal standards available to victims of discrimination or 

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

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

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


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

2 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

3 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act 

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

5 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983). The obligations im6 posed by this Act are in addition to those imposed by title 

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

8 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

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

11 (b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS AND RE12 LIGIOUS STUDENT GROUPS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

13 construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the 

14 rights available to individuals or groups under, other Fed15 eral laws that establish protections for freedom of speech 

16 and expression, such as legal standards and rights avail17 able to religious and other student groups under the 1st 

18 Amendment to the Constitution and the Equal Access Act 

19 (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.). 

20 SEC. 10. SEVERABILITY. 

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

22 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un23 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the applica24 tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 

25 shall not be affected. 


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1 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

4 occurring before the effective date of this Act. 

Æ 


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