This morning Human Rights Watch announced the launch of a report "Like Walking Through a Hailstorm: Discrimination against LGBT Youth in US Schools" which documents problems facing LGBT students. The report finds that LGBT youth face "bulling and harassment, exclusion of LGBT topics from school curricula and resources, restrictions on LGBT student groups, and discrimination and bigotry from both classmates and school personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity."
Both the ACLU of South Dakota and the Center for Equality were invited to speak at the press conference. Below are remarks from Libby Skarin, ACLU-SD Policy Director.
I’m incredibly thankful to be standing here alongside representatives from Human Rights Watch and The Center for Equality, both organizations that recognize how vital it is to stand up for LGBT youth across South Dakota and the country. Today I’d like to spend a few minutes reflecting on recent legislative attacks on LGBT students in South Dakota, discussing what the upcoming 2017 legislative session could bring, and why it’s more important than ever for us – as individuals, organizations, and South Dakotans – to stand up for these vulnerable kids and demand that our leaders treat them with basic dignity and fairness.
As you all know, in the 2016 South Dakota Legislative Session we saw a package of bills targeting the LGBT community in our state, with a particularly cruel emphasis on denying transgender students access to restrooms and locker rooms in accordance with who they are. Despite this coordinated offensive, none of these discriminatory bills became law. This effort was culminated with a gubernatorial veto. In his veto message, Governor Daugaard said:
“House Bill 1008 does not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of South Dakota. As policymakers in South Dakota, we often recite that the best government is the government closest to the people. Local school districts can, and have, made necessary restroom and locker room accommodations that serve the best interests of all students, regardless of biological sex or gender identity. . .
Furthermore, he said:
Preserving local control is particularly important because this bill would place every school district in the difficult position of following state law while knowing it openly invites federal litigation.”
Eight months have passed since the Governor took this measured, common sense approach. Today we find ourselves one month away from the opening of the 2017 legislative session. There has been much speculation about what kind of legislation may be introduced. At this point in time, there have been no concrete, verifiable bills or drafts that I have seen. There are no pre-filed bills up on the legislature’s website. Because of this, I won’t engage in speculation about the specifics of what we may or may not see during the 2017 session.
Instead, I’ll tell you what the ACLU of South Dakota will do if and when we see pieces of legislation that follow in the footsteps of 2016 and attempt to discriminate against LGBT youth, deny them equality under the law, or further stigmatize and isolate them. If this type of shameful legislation comes back in 2017, we will do everything we can to stop it. We will work with our partners and allies in organizations and communities across the state. We will reach out LGBT students, and we will remind them that they are valued, that they are loved, and that they are an important part of our schools and our communities. We will show them that there are plenty of people all across this state that will fight for their right to live their lives in peace and complete their educations free of harassment and discrimination.
We know that this kind of legislation hurts children. We know, through the excellent work of Human Rights Watch, just how devastating it is for LGBT students to be stigmatized and singled out and treated as though something is wrong with them – especially by those who are in positions of power. I want to encourage our leaders to take the time to read this report, and to consider the stories of kids living in South Dakota. Stories like the one told by Julian a 15-year-old transgender boy who was threatened with rape by a classmate; or Silas, a transgender high school student who was told by a fellow student that he should kill himself; or Annette, an administrator at a residential school in South Dakota who recalls incidents wherein, after discovering their kids were LGBT, they were kicked out of their homes or beaten by their parents. This is the reality many LGBT kids in our state face. This is the reality that is enabled by politicians who attempt to create laws that single out LGBT students and discriminate against them.
What these kids want – and deserve – is simple: to live their lives in peace and go about their school days like any other student. These kids didn’t ask for this fight. They aren’t asking for special treatment. They just want to be treated fairly just as their peers and classmates are. The ACLU of South Dakota is committed to doing everything we can to make THAT the reality of LGBT students across our state.
