A proposed amendment to Oregon's antidiscrimination laws passed a major hurdle this week, as the state senate's judiciary committee voted to bring the measure to the full senate for a vote. If it passes both houses, as predicted, the bill would add protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, including education. 17 states have similar laws already.
If the amendment passes, Oregon students will enjoy more protection against discrimination than they currently receive under Title IX. Title IX covers some discrimination against gay and lesbian students, but is limited to harassment that is sexual in nature.
I don't think 17 is the correct number That is the number of state statutes prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. I'm not sure if all of those statutes affect educational discrimination. But there are only 8 state statutes including gender identity, as opposed to sexual orientation for employment discrimination purposes, and I'm not sure how many of those affect education. See my blog post on this issue for more details "Transgender Workplace Diversity" http://jweissdiary.blogspot.com
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