LGBTQ+ Groups to North Carolina School District: State's 'Don't Say Gay' Law Is Discrimination

Three LGBTQ+ groups have filed a complaint with the Buncombe County, N.C., Board of Education over its implementation of North Carolina’s recently passed “don’t say gay” law.

The complaint, from Youth OUTright, PFLAG Asheville, and the Campaign for Southern Equality, alleges the school board violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX bans sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funds, and the U.S. Department of Education has held that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The complaint was filed last Tuesday with Shanon Martin, Title IX coordinator for the Buncombe County schools.

The law, Senate Bill 49, was passed in August when North Carolina legislators overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, and it took effect immediately. Cooper is a Democrat, but both houses of the legislature have Republican supermajorities.

It bans “instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality” in kindergarten through fourth grade. It also says that if students want to be called by names or pronouns different from what’s in school records, in most cases teachers and staff have to notify their parents — essentially outing them.

The school board voted December 7 to implement the law, with one caveat about the outing portion. It says that if students have fears about their parents being notified, they can discuss their concerns with the principal of their school, and the principal can make decisions on a “case-by-case basis,” according to Blue Ridge Public Radio.

This did not satisfy the advocacy groups or the many people who spoke out against the law’s implementation at the December 7 meeting. The policies OK’d by the board “create a hostile educational environment for LGBTQIA+ students, families, staff and faculty, and in doing so violate Title IX and Buncombe County Schools’ obligation to provide every student with a safe and non-discriminatory school environment,” the complaint says.

Those who spoke against SB 49 have made clear that it will harm LGBTQ+ students and staff, the complaint continues, while those who spoke in favor of it “have made it clear that they do not understand LGBTQIA+ identities, believe and promote a number of negative stereotypes about LGBTQIA+ people, and frequently bear some animosity against us.”

“We submit that the substance and tone of their communications is evidence of the hostile environment that many students, staff and faculty face at school and in the community (and

frequently at home as well),” the complainants add.

If the Title IX coordinator finds that violations have occurred, these actions must cease, the complaint says. “Regardless of the findings,” it continues, the coordinator should explain the scope of Title IX to all faculty, staff, and administrators.

“Board of Education member Rob Elliot made this point very clearly at the time of the December 7 vote: many people, including BCS staff, are unaware that LGBTQIA+ members of the school community have federal protections from discrimination,” the complaint notes. “If people don’t know the law, they can’t follow the law, and one of the duties of the Title IX Coordinator is to make sure that district employees understand their duties and obligations under Title IX.”

It also says the school system should draw on the expertise of LGBTQ+ groups to change the hostile environment that exists in Buncombe County schools.

“We file this complaint more in sorrow than in anger," Craig White, supportive schools director at the Campaign for Southern Equality, said in a press release. "It was clear that the BCS policy committee did what they could to reduce the harm caused to LGBTQ young people by SB.49 But less harm is not no harm, and after hearing the testimony of students, families, and educators, it was clear that we have to take all possible steps to prevent the provisions in this discriminatory state law from going into effect in Buncombe County.”

“SB 49 — the ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ+’ bill in NC — is a cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize LGBTQ children, faculty, and their families in the state," added KT Merseles, a board member for PFLAG Asheville. "This is part of a crusade against the LGBTQ population, designed to rile up an extremist base nationwide. The policies passed recently in the Buncombe County School Board violate our children’s rights to a safe and non-discriminatory environment in schools. Asheville PFLAG will continue to advocate alongside the Campaign for Southern Equality and Youth OUTright to ensure the civil rights of our families are upheld.”

The groups intend to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights division as well. That is planned for January.