I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5374 

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 

MARCH 21, 2018 

Mr. POLIS (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. 

TAKANO, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SEAN PATRICK

MALONEY of New York, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. CROWLEY, 

Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN

GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. EVANS, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. 

PERLMUTTER, Mr. CRIST, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 

KIHUEN, Ms. TITUS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. 

FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. BASS, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. VELA, 

Mr. YARMUTH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. MOORE, Ms. 

MATSUI, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, 

Mr. PANETTA, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. 

GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. LEE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. NADLER, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. 

HANABUSA, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. COSTA, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. COOPER, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. 

BERA, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. 

RYAN of Ohio, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. WELCH, Mr. RUIZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. O’ROURKE, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, and Mrs. TORRES) introduced the following 


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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 2018’’. 

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 orientaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Apr 02, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5374.IH H5374

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1 tion or gender identity represent a distinct and espe2 cially severe problem. 

3 (3) Numerous social science studies demon4 strate that discrimination, including harassment, 

5 bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has 

6 contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, 

7 adverse health consequences, and academic under8 achievement among LGBT youth. 

9 (4) When left unchecked, discrimination, includ10 ing harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, 

11 in schools based on sexual orientation or gender 

12 identity can lead, and has led to, life-threatening vio13 lence and to suicide. 

14 (5) Public school students enjoy a variety of 

15 constitutional rights, including rights to equal pro16 tection, privacy, and free expression, which are in17 fringed when school officials engage in discrimina18 tory treatment or are indifferent to discrimination, 

19 including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio20 lence, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 

21 identity. 

22 (6) While Federal statutory protections ex23 pressly address discrimination on the basis of race, 

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

25 Federal civil rights statutes do not expressly include 


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1 ‘‘sexual orientation’’ or ‘‘gender identity’’. As a re2 sult, students and parents have often had limited 

3 legal recourse to redress for discrimination on the 

4 basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

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

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

7 public education in a safe environment free from dis8 crimination, including harassment, bullying, intimi9 dation and violence, on the basis of sexual orienta10 tion or gender identity; 

11 (2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi12 tion of discrimination in public schools based on ac13 tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden14 tity; 

15 (3) to provide meaningful and effective rem16 edies for discrimination in public schools based on 

17 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 

18 identity; 

19 (4) to invoke congressional powers, including 

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

21 Amendment to the Constitution and to provide for 

22 the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article 

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

24 necessary and proper for the execution of the fore25 going powers pursuant to section 8 of article I of the 


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1 Constitution, in order to prohibit discrimination in 

2 public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or 

3 gender identity; and 

4 (5) to allow the Department of Education to ef5 fectively combat discrimination based on sexual ori6 entation or gender identity in public schools through 

7 regulation and enforcement, as the Department has 

8 issued regulations under and enforced title IX of the 

9 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 

10 seq.) and other nondiscrimination laws in a manner 

11 that effectively addresses discrimination. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 For purposes of this Act: 

14 (1) PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘pro15 gram or activity’’ and ‘‘program’’ have same mean16 ings given such terms as applied under section 606 

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

18 4a) to the operations of public entities under para19 graph (2)(B) of such section. 

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

21 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear22 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac23 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 

24 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 


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

2 means conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 

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

4 in or benefit from a public school education program 

5 or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive edu6 cational environment at a public school, including 

7 acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, in8 timidation, or hostility, if such conduct is based 

9 on— 

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

11 orientation or gender identity; or 

12 (B) the actual or perceived sexual orienta13 tion or gender identity of a person or persons 

14 with whom a student associates or has associ15 ated. 

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

17 schools’’ means public elementary and secondary 

18 schools, including local educational agencies, edu19 cational service agencies, and State educational 

20 agencies, as defined in section 8101 of the Elemen21 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

24 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

25 or bisexuality. 


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

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

3 regardless of official enrollment status, attends 

4 classes or participates in a public school’s programs 

5 or educational activities. 

6 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION; EXCEP7 TIONS. 

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

9 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity 

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

11 associates or has associated, be excluded from participa12 tion in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to 

13 discrimination under any program or activity receiving 

14 Federal financial assistance. 

15 (b) HARASSMENT.—For purposes of this Act, dis16 crimination includes, but is not limited to, harassment of 

17 a student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual ori18 entation or gender identity of such student or of a person 

19 with whom the student associates or has associated. 

20 (c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

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

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

23 be subjected to discrimination, retaliation, or re24 prisal under any program or activity receiving FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Apr 02, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5374.IH H5374

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1 eral financial assistance based on his or her opposi2 tion to conduct made unlawful by this Act. 

3 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub4 section, ‘‘opposition to conduct made unlawful by 

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

6 (A) opposition to conduct reasonably be7 lieved to be made unlawful by this Act; 

8 (B) any formal or informal report, whether 

9 oral or written, to any governmental entity, in10 cluding public schools and employees thereof, 

11 regarding conduct made unlawful by this Act or 

12 reasonably believed to be made unlawful by this 

13 Act; 

14 (C) participation in any investigation, pro15 ceeding, or hearing related to conduct made un16 lawful by this Act or reasonably believed to be 

17 made unlawful by this Act; and 

18 (D) assistance or encouragement provided 

19 to any other person in the exercise or enjoy20 ment of any right granted or protected by this 

21 Act, 

22 if in the course of that expression, the person in23 volved does not purposefully provide information 

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1 ernmental entity regarding a violation, or alleged 

2 violation, of this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT; RE4 PORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 

5 Each Federal department and agency which is em6 powered to extend Federal financial assistance to any edu7 cation program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or con8 tract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is 

9 authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of sec10 tion 4 of this Act with respect to such program or activity 

11 by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applica12 bility which shall be consistent with achievement of the 

13 objectives of the Act authorizing the financial assistance 

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

15 regulation, or order shall become effective unless and until 

16 approved by the President. Compliance with any require17 ment adopted pursuant to this section may be effected— 

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

19 to continue assistance under such program or activ20 ity to any recipient as to whom there has been an 

21 express finding on the record, after opportunity for 

22 hearing, of a failure to comply with such require23 ment, but such termination or refusal shall be lim24 ited to the particular political entity, or part thereof, 

25 or other recipient as to whom such a finding has 


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

2 particular program, or part thereof, in which such 

3 noncompliance has been so found; or 

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

5 except that no such action shall be taken until the depart6 ment or agency concerned has advised the appropriate per7 son or persons of the failure to comply with the require8 ment and has determined that compliance cannot be se9 cured by voluntary means. In the case of any action termi10 nating, or refusing to grant or continue, assistance be11 cause of failure to comply with a requirement imposed 

12 pursuant to this section, the head of the Federal depart13 ment or agency shall file with the committees of the House 

14 and Senate having legislative jurisdiction over the pro15 gram or activity involved a full written report of the cir16 cumstances and the grounds for such action. No such ac17 tion shall become effective until 30 days have elapsed after 

18 the filing of such report. 

19 SEC. 6. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

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

21 this section, an aggrieved individual may assert a violation 

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

23 be awarded all appropriate relief, including but not limited 

24 to equitable relief, compensatory damages, cost of the ac25 tion, and remedial action. 


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

2 be construed to preclude an aggrieved individual from ob3 taining other remedies under any other provision of law 

4 or to require such individual to exhaust any administrative 

5 complaint process or notice-of-claim requirement before 

6 seeking redress under this section. 

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

8 pursuant to this section, the statute of limitations period 

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

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

11 limitations period shall be determined in accordance with 

12 the law governing actions under section 1979 of the Re13 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) in the forum State. 

14 SEC. 7. STATE IMMUNITY. 

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

16 under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the 

17 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation 

18 of this Act. 

19 (b) WAIVER.—A State’s receipt or use of Federal fi20 nancial assistance for any program or activity of a State 

21 shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 

22 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a 

23 suit brought by an aggrieved individual for a violation of 

24 section 4 of this Act. 


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1 (c) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola2 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law 

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

4 same extent as such remedies are available for such a vio5 lation in the suit against any public or private entity other 

6 than a State. 

7 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

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

9 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Student Non10 discrimination Act of 2018,’’ after ‘‘Religious Land Use 

11 and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,’’. 

12 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

13 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

14 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to pre15 empt, invalidate, or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or 

16 legal standards available to victims of discrimination or 

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

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

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

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

21 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

22 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act 

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

24 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983). The obligations im25 posed by this Act are in addition to those imposed by title 


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

2 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

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

5 (b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS AND RE6 LIGIOUS STUDENT GROUPS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

7 construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the 

8 rights available to individuals or groups under, other Fed9 eral laws that establish protections for freedom of speech 

10 and expression, such as legal standards and rights avail11 able to religious and other student groups under the 1st 

12 Amendment to the Constitution and the Equal Access Act 

13 (20 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 10. SEVERABILITY. 

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

16 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un17 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the applica18 tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 

19 shall not be affected. 

20 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

23 occurring before the effective date of this Act. 

Æ 


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