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. JOHN-
SON 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. ROS- 
LEHTINEN, 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) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor 
A BILL 
To end discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual 
orientation or gender identity in public schools, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Non-
discrimination Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Public school students who are lesbian, gay, 
bisexual or transgender (LGBT), or are perceived to 
be LGBT, or who associate with LGBT people, have 
been and are subjected to pervasive discrimination, 
including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio-
lence, and have been deprived of equal educational 
opportunities, in schools in every part of our Nation. 
(2) While discrimination, including harassment, 
bullying, intimidation and violence, of any kind is 
harmful to students and to our education system, 
actions that target students based on sexual orienta-
tion or gender identity represent a distinct and espe-
cially severe problem. 
(3) Numerous social science studies dem-
onstrate that discrimination, including harassment, 
bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has 
contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, 
adverse health consequences, and academic under-
achievement among LGBT youth. 
(4) When left unchecked, discrimination, includ-
ing harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, 
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in schools based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity can lead, and has lead to, life-threatening 
violence and to suicide. 
(5) Public school students enjoy a variety of 
constitutional rights, including rights to equal pro-
tection, privacy, and free expression, which are in-
fringed when school officials engage in discrimina-
tory treatment or are indifferent to discrimination, 
including harassment, bullying, intimidation and vio-
lence, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 
identity. 
(6) While Federal statutory protections ex-
pressly address discrimination on the basis of race, 
color, sex, religion, disability, and national origin, 
Federal civil rights statutes do not expressly include 
‘‘sexual orientation’’ or ‘‘gender identity’’. As a re-
sult, students and parents have often had limited 
legal recourse to redress for discrimination on the 
basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to ensure that all students have access to 
public education in a safe environment free from dis-
crimination, including harassment, bullying, intimi-
dation and violence, on the basis of sexual orienta-
tion or gender identity; 
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(2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi-
tion of discrimination in public schools based on ac-
tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden-
tity; 
(3) to provide meaningful and effective rem-
edies for discrimination in public schools based on 
actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 
identity; and 
(4) to invoke congressional powers, including 
but not limited to the power to enforce the 14th 
Amendment to the Constitution and to provide for 
the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article 
I of the Constitution and the power to enact all laws 
necessary and proper for the execution of the fore-
going powers pursuant to section 8 of article I of the 
Constitution, in order to prohibit discrimination in 
public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or 
gender identity. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘pro-
gram or activity’’ and ‘‘program’’ have same mean-
ings given such terms as applied under section 606 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d– 
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4a) to the operations of public entities under para-
graph (2)(B) of such section. 
(2) GENDER
IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 
identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear-
ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac-
teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 
the individual’s designated sex at birth. 
(3) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘harassment’’ 
means conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 
or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate 
in or benefit from a public school education program 
or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive edu-
cational environment at a public school, including 
acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, in-
timidation, or hostility, if such conduct is based 
on— 
(A) a student’s actual or perceived sexual 
orientation or gender identity; or 
(B) the actual or perceived sexual orienta-
tion or gender identity of a person or persons 
with whom a student associates or has associ-
ated. 
(4) PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.—The term ‘‘public 
schools’’ means public elementary and secondary 
schools, including local educational agencies, edu-
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