IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 265 

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 elementary and secondary schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Mr. TAKANO (for himself and Ms. LEE of California) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

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 elementary and secondary 

schools. 

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

communities must be free of transphobia, homophobia, 

racism, sexism, and ableism in elementary and secondary 

schools; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 265 IH 

Whereas elementary and secondary schools must be safe and 

inclusive learning environments that affirm LGBTQI+ 

young people, especially those who are transgender, nonbinary, intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color, people with disabilities, and from all communities that experience marginalization; 

Whereas for over two 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 2023–2024 as a time for 

communities to carry out the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ 

Youth in Schools Initiative in support of LGBTQI+ 

young people in schools, by building on the goals of the 

‘‘National Day of Silence’’ and the ‘‘No Name-Calling 

Week’’ to create a sustained call to action to demand 

equal educational opportunity, 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, on March 30, 2020, where 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 17 days 

after the COVID–19 pandemic was declared a national 

emergency; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 265 IH 

(2) between 2021 and 2022, when 17 additional 

States enacted laws prohibiting transgender students 

from playing alongside their peers on school sports 

teams; and 

(3) between 2021 and 2022, when 3 States enacted 

laws to prevent transgender students from using the 

school bathroom or locker room that corresponds with 

their gender identity; 

Whereas the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’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 grade point 

averages, 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 bullying at school and 

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 Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s 

2021 National School Climate Survey found that, among 

LGBTQI+ students who said that they were considering 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 265 IH 

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; 

Whereas States are passing or attempting to pass legislation 

that erases or censors LGBTQI+ people, history, and 

contributions from classroom literature and curricula, including— 

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

DeSantis signed House bill 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, where Governor Doug 

Ducey signed House bill 2035, which would require parental consent for a child to learn about topics such as 

the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that 

the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to samesex couples; and 

(3) in 2021, when Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and 

Tennessee enacted laws that treat instruction related to 

LGBTQI+ people 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 parents 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 House bill 1557; 

Whereas States have gone farther by specifically targeting 

transgender students and their parents with laws that atVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR265.IH HR265

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 265 IH 

tack transgender students’ mental health counseling and 

gender-affirming care, including— 

(1) in 2022, in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott 

issued a directive to the Department of Family and Protective 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, when 34 States introduced 

over 135 bills that prohibit or create barriers to the social 

affirmation of transgender and nonbinary students, such 

as using a student’s chosen name and pronouns, regardless of the risk to students’ 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 people 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 94 percent of teachers say that schools should ensure that no students feel unsafe, invisible, or unheard; 

Whereas young people who develop in positive school climates, free of 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 a bar and that all communities deserve 

to be acknowledged and affirmed in our schools; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 265 IH 

Whereas students and parents, educators, and community 

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

Tennessee, Texas, and in all States and territories of the 

United States are advocating for safe and inclusive learning environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young people, 

including those 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 House of Representatives— 

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 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS