Jamie Secola

News Journal correspondent

The Escambia County School Board recently added language to include discrimination against one's gender identity and gender expression in its bullying and harassment definitions after a call for action from the community and American Civil Liberties Union.

The board voted 3-0 to approve the 2014-15 Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which included the added language, at its meeting Tuesday. Two school board members, Patty Hightower and Jeff Bergosh, are out of the country and did not attend the meeting.

After the approval, applause erupted from the audience, and several speakers expressed gratitude to the board for its action.

"Not only does it affect the students at the schools, but it affects the teachers as well," Washington High teacher Leslie Owen told the board. "I strongly believe outreach should continue. There are still children who feel unsafe in our high schools. And the only way a child can learn is if their learning environment is a safe one."

In April, the U.S. Education Department alerted districts in a memo on sexual violence that it would welcome civil rights complaints from transgender students under Title IX, the 1972 law that bans gender discrimination at schools.

Previously, the handbook included discrimination against sexual orientation under its definitions of bullying and harassment, but lacked the more explicit language that discrimination against gender identity and gender expression was prohibited as well.

The new language will allow transgender students to have added confidence that bullying and harassment targeted at them will not be tolerated, said Sara Latshaw, director of the Northwest Region of the ACLU Foundation of Florida.

"Transgender people are protected from discrimination whether or not it's in their (school district's) codes," Latshaw said. "But the clarifying of the language will help provide a better environment for those students."

School Board member Bill Slayton said the added language wasn't a big change to the district's policies, which already prohibited bullying and harassment.

"We don't allow anyone to harass anyone," Slayton said. "We want everyone to treat each other how they would want to be treated.

"But if it makes kids feel safer, then OK."

Slayton added that the approval of the handbook was prudent so that it would be ready by the time school begins Aug. 18.

"We needed to approve it so that principals will have that book by the first day of school," he said.

Latshaw said the ACLU has worked in the past months with the superintendent and school board, advocating the addition of "gender identity/expression" to its bullying and harassment policies.

"There's federal government guidance that essentially said that transgender people are protected," Latshaw said. "Using that advice and the fact that we believe no one should be discriminated against, we spoke with school board members and the superintendent that this would be a good addition to their nondiscrimination policies."

ONLINE

See the district's amended policy on bullying and harassment for yourself at www.escambia.k12.fl.us/board/PDF 14/July/07_15_14_specmtg/II_a.PDF.