To shield gay students from harassment, a state task force has recommended that educators strengthen anti-discrimination training for teachers while incorporating positive images of homosexuals into classroom lessons. The group released a report yesterday calling on the state Department of Education and the state school board to approve a dozen recommendations to ensure that schools and districts follow a law passed last year outlawing discrimination against students and staff at public schools based on sexual orientation. The recommendations drew criticism from some parents and groups that say they move into territory that should be dealt with by parents, not schools. But task force members and groups that help gay youths said the recommendations will help change campus climates that ignore anti-gay harassment and promote a feeling of safety among all students. This is not about sex.
Hatred is very, very dangerous to our students.
It is also a real academic downer. Eastin convened the task force after the passage of the state law. The law added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's education code, which prohibited discrimination based on sex, ethnicity, race, religion and mental or physical disability. Educators have a responsibility to address harassment of gay youths that leads students to drop out, attempt suicide or withdraw, Eastin said. Her nephew, who is gay, spent his high school years hiding in the library during lunch, she said.