Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 05:19:37 -0500 From: ac245@osfn.rhilinet.gov (Tina M. Wood) Subject: Text of "An act relating to schools discrimination" Below is the text of "An act relating to schools discrimination," the schools non-discrimination bill that will be heard in committee in early March. Contact the Youth Bill Coalition at (401)421-5626 for more information. This text will be available in the Queer Resources Directory's Rhode Island section: http://www.qrd.org/QRD/usa/rhode_island/ ---------cut here---------------------- Text of "An Act Relating to Schools Discrimination" House: 96-H8710 Senate: 96-S2854 [Text in *asterisks* is underlined in the original, indicating that this is what will be added to the original law.] State of Rhode Island In General Assembly January Session, A.D. 1996 An Act Relating to Schools Discrimination Introduced By: [blank on my copy] Date Introduced: [blank on my copy] Referred To: [blank on my copy] It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Sections 16-38-1 and 16-38-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-38 entitled "Offenses Pertaining to Schools" are hereby amended to read as follows: *16-38-1. Discrimination because of race or age.--* No person shall be exclused from any public school on account of race or, color, *religion, national origin* or for being over fiften (15) years of age, nor except by force of some general regulation applicable to all persons under the same circumstances. *16-38-1.1. Discrimination because of sex.--* (a)(1) Discrimination on the basis of sex *or sexual orientation* is hereby prohibited in all public elementary and secondary schools in the state of Rhode Island as well as in all schools operated by the board of regents for elementary and secondary education. This prohibition shall apply to employment practices, admissions, curricular programs, extracurricular activities including athletics, counseling, and any and all other school functions and activities. (2) Notwithstanding the above prohibition, schools may do the following: maintain separate restrooms, dressing, and shower facilities for males and females; conduct separate human sexuality classes for male and female students and prohibit female participation in all contact sports provided that equal athletic opportunities which effectively accomodate the interests and abilities of both sexes are made available. (3) Each local education agency shall designate an equal opportunity officer who shall be responsible for overseeing compliance with this action within the local education agency district. (4) The board of regents shall designate an equal opportunity officer who shall be responsible for overseeing compliance with this section within schools operated by the board. (5) The commissioner of education for elementary and secondary schools shall be responsible for enforcing this section and is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations to enforce the provisions of this section. (b)(1) Discrimination on the basis of sex *or sexual orientation* is hereby prohibited in all public colleges, community colleges, universities, and all other public institutions of higher learning in the state of Rhode Island which are operated by the board of governors for higher education. This prohibition shall apply to employment, recruitment, and hiring practices, employment benefits, admissions, curricular programs, extracurricular activities including athletics, counseling, financial aid, including athletic grants-in-aid, student medical, hospital and accident or life insurance benefits, facilities, housing, rules and regulations, research, and any and all other school functions and activities. (2) Notwithstanding the above prohibitions, schools may do the following: maintain separate but comparable restrooms, dressing, and shower facilities for males and females; including reasonable use of staff of the same sex as the users of these facilities; provide separate teams for contact sports or for sports where selection for teams is based on competitive skills, provided that equal athletic opportunities which effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of both sexes are made available; maintain separate housing for men and women, provided that housing for both sexes is as a whole both proportionate in quantity to the number of students of that sex that apply for housing and comparable in quality and cost to the student; permit the establishment and operation of university-based social fraternities and sororities. (3) Each individual educational institution of higher learning shall designate an equal opportunity officer or affirmative action officer who shall be responsible for overseeing compliance with this section within the educational institution. (4) The president of each public college, community college, university, and other public institution of higher learning in the state of Rhode Island shall be responsible for enforcing this section and is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations to enforce the provisions of this section. SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. -- ______ Tina M. Wood ac245@osfn.rhilinet.gov \ / Cumberland, Rhode Island twood@qrd.org \ / Homepage: http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~maire/home.html \/ Queer Resources Directory: http://www.qrd.org/QRD/