School Harassment

Related Resources

Sexual Orientation Information and Resources

1997 Amendment to CGS Sec. 10-15c Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

In 1997, the state legislature amended Section 10-15c of the General Statutes, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin, to also prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

SECTION 10-15c

The public schools shall be open to all children five years of age and over who reach age five on or before the first day of January of any school year, and each such child shall have, and shall be so advised by the appropriate school authorities, an equal opportunity to participate in the activities, programs and courses of study offered in such public schools, at such time as the child becomes eligible to participate in such activities, programs and courses of study, without discrimination on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation; provided boards of education may, by vote at a meeting duly called, admit to any school children under five years of age.

Publications

True Colors Resource Guide

Take It Back: A Manual for Fighting Slurs on Campus
Look around your school. There are countless differences among the people you see - differences in race, ethnicity, gender, cultural heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, economic class, age, physical and mental ability, and many others. Instead of being embraced as expressions of diversity, these differences are often singled out for ridicule. Name-calling, labeling, harassing remarks, and slurs such as "You faggot!" "Spic" and "You're retarded!" send clear messages to their targets that they are not welcome or "not as good" as others, and contribute generally to a hostile school environment for everyone. Words DO have the power to hurt us!