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5. A public school may not
discriminate against a student based on the student’s gender nonconformity. |
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In
2006, Washington’s Law Against Discrimination,8
which already prohibited various other kinds of discrimination in, among other
things, employment and public accommodation [which includes public schools], was
amended to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity and expression. Now at least 15 states, plus the District of Columbia,
have statutes expressly protecting students against discrimination based on
sexual orientation, with an increasing number protecting against gender
–identity discrimination as well. In other states, students may find
LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination protections in administrative regulations,
local ordinances, and/or board of education policies. Courts in various parts of
the country have properly recognized, in fact, that federal civil rights
protections – including Title IX and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause
– prohibit irrational discrimination based on gender stereotypes in schools,
regardless of what state law provides. Unfortunately, not all courts have been
receptive to claims alleging discrimination based on sex and gender stereotypes.
The Supreme Court has only provided limited guidance on these issues.
8
See WA State’s
non-discrimination law (RCW 49.60.030)
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.60.030. |
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