Senate Sets Stage for Passage of Safe Schools for All Bill!

The Safe Schools for All Bill passed a procedural vote in the Minnesota Senate on April 16 by the comfortable margin of 43-22.  Before the bill can become law, a final Senate vote (expected April 20) must take place, and a majority of legislators in the House to vote in support of the anti-bullying law.  After the bill passes the House and any differences with the Senate version are resolved, it will go to the Governor for his approval or rejection.

Senators also rejected, by a vote of 37 to 24, an effort by Rep. Warren Limmer to amend the legislation to state that it does not "promote or condone homosexuality."  Language like this, often referred to as "no promo homo" amendments, is often intended to continue sending a harmful message of exclusion to GLBT students.  OutFront Minnesota has opposed such amendments in the past and continues to do so.

This legislation addresses the violence, harassment, and bullying that plague our young people in school. While the vast majority of GLBT youth report being harassed or bullied in school, most school districts' policies do not include protections for them.

The legislation would help help make our schools safer by enhancing current policies to prohibit harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence based on, but not limited to, actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, and association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.

Your state legislators need to hear from you about why you support this legislation. Find your legislators' contact information here.