Saline Schools Superintendent Scot Graden has a blog post that describes the recent history of the Saline Schools non-discrimination ordinance. Most usefully, it has current and proposed language, as well as information about what the bullying ordinance says.
This post also says that at the board's next meeting there will be discussion (not a vote, as previously reported) of the ordinance, and that it is scheduled as an action item (likely vote--but it could always get tabled) will occur on October 12th.
The bullying ordinance includes language about sexual orientation but not gender identity.
Of course there are concerns about safety, because hate crimes and bullying do occur based on individuals' sexual orientation.
But--just for the record: Not all bullying involves sexual orientation, or gender identity. And not all issues around sexual orientation and gender identity involve bullying.
Including this language is important as a matter of basic civil rights, fairness, and human dignity.
All meetings are held at the Liberty School Media Center, 7265 Saline-Ann Arbor Road, and start at 6:30 p.m.
Information, news, and ideas about Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and Michigan schools; thoughts about education; and occasionally other stuff too.
Here is a good example of a non-bullying issue related to gender identity, happening right now in the Mona Shores school district:
ReplyDeletehttp://michiganmessenger.com/42228/michigan-transgender-teen-challenging-high-schools-refusal-to-let-him-be-homecoming-king
And here is another example, albeit at the college level (this one is from the University of Michigan, about a leader of student government who is being harrassed by a blogger because of his sexual orientation).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/MSApresident.html