From the Columbus Dispatch on December 15, 2009
BY BILL BUSH AND JENNIFER SMITH RICHARDS
Columbus schools are moving to prohibit discrimination of any student or employee based on sexual orientation, according to a policy change that will get a first reading at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday.
In listing the types of discrimination that won’t be tolerated in education programs, activities and employment practices, the ordinance would add prejudice based on sexual orientation to the current race, creed, sex, age, color, national origin and disability.
Board Vice President Stephanie Groce said today that the change has been under discussion by the board for at least several years, but she didn’t know why the policy change was being advanced now or who advanced it. She referred that question to board President Carol L. Perkins, who couldn’t be reached this afternoon.
The move is more than just a housekeeping measure: Nothing in Ohio or federal law stops an employer from firing people or otherwise discriminating against them because they are gay.
“Sexual orientation is not included yet in state or federal nondiscrimination laws, which is why it’s so important to have them added to local policies,” said Carrie Davis, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.
Attempts to codify protections for sexual orientation sometimes have been controversial.
In 2007, Gov. Ted Strickland restored protections for state workers that had been removed by Gov. Bob Taft in 1999. Under Strickland’s executive order, no one could be fired from or denied a state job on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Former Govs. Richard F. Celeste and George V. Voinovich also had supported the protections.
Also in 2007, sexual orientation was at the center of a lengthy argument about what should go in a model anti-bullying policy for schools.
Some State Board of Education members said spelling out whether gay students should be protected wasn’t necessary. In the end, the board scrapped identifying any specific group for protection, also leaving out any mention of ethnicity, gender or religion from the model policy.
The Ohio School Boards Association also provides model school-board policies, which several local districts have adopted as their own. Its model nondiscrimination policy makes no reference to sexual orientation because “it isn’t considered a protected class,” said Greta Gardner, deputy director of policy services. Listing additional groups that aren’t legally protected classes could result in an endless list of groups that the district is bound to protect against discrimination, she said.
But Davis said that a policy could be misinterpreted if it isn’t direct about the goals.
“If we truly want a school to be free from discrimination, the policy should be inclusive,” she said.
The district’s teachers contract also doesn’t offer protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, said union President Rhonda Johnson.
“It’s not in the contract, it’s not anywhere,” said Johnson, who supports the policy change.
In a quick survey of 11 of the 16 Franklin County school districts, only South-Western schools named sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy. The district’s policies for students and staff members not only list sexual orientation, but also ancestry, citizenship and veteran status.
In the past, gays have been excluded from teams and coaching assignments because of their sexual orientation, said Karla Rothan, executive director of Stonewall Columbus, which advocates for the city’s gays, bisexuals and transgender people. She applauded the district’s move.
“When you spell it out, people are more accountable to change their behavior,” Rothan said.
Typically, the school board doesn’t vote on an ordinance that is on first reading until its next scheduled meeting – which is next month – but sometimes that rule is waived.
The district already has a policy that prohibits harassment of students or staff members based on sexual orientation. The policy defines harassment as “slurs, jokes, intimidation, or any verbal or physical attack.”
