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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The National Day of Silence is a day in which
3students take a vow of silence to bring attention to the
4anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender name-calling,
5bullying, and harassment faced by individuals in schools; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
7designates the third Friday of every April as the National Day
8of Silence; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of students at more than
108,000 schools have participated in the National Day of Silence
11in past years; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education
13Network's 2011 National School Climate Survey illustrates the
14pervasive harassment and victimization faced by lesbian, gay,
15bisexual, and transgender students by documenting their
16experiences within the preceding academic year; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Nearly 82% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
18transgender students reported being verbally harassed by their
19peers at school because of their sexual orientation, and more
20than 60% were verbally harassed because of their gender
21expression; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, More than 38% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
2transgender students reported being physically harassed by
3their peers at school because of their sexual orientation, and
4over 27% were physically harassed because of their gender
5expression; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Over 18% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
7transgender students reported being physically assaulted by
8their peers at school because of their sexual orientation, and
9more than 12% were physically assaulted because of their gender
10expression; and
 
11    WHEREAS, More than 60% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
12transgender students reported that they felt unsafe in school,
13and nearly 30% reported missing at least one entire school day
14in the preceding month because of safety concerns; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Transgender students were more likely than all
16other students to report feeling unsafe at school because of
17their gender expression; and
 
18    WHEREAS, According to the National Transgender
19Discrimination Survey, those who expressed a transgender
20identity or gender nonconformity while in grades K through 12
21reported alarming rates of harassment, physical assault, and

 

 

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1sexual violence so severe that almost 15% of those surveyed had
2to leave school; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Student academic performance is affected such
4that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students who
5experienced high levels of verbal harassment because of their
6sexual orientation or gender expression report a grade point
7average nearly a half grade lower than those of lesbian, gay,
8bisexual, and transgender students who experienced low levels
9of such harassment; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The presence of supportive staff contributed to a
11range of positive indicators, including fewer reports of
12missing school, fewer reports of feeling unsafe, greater
13academic achievement, higher educational aspirations, and a
14greater sense of school belonging; and
 
15    WHEREAS, A growing number of cities and local education
16authorities in the State of Illinois are adopting laws and
17policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment, and
18discrimination against students on the basis of their sexual
19orientation and gender identity or expression; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Every child should be guaranteed an education free
21from name-calling, bullying, harassment, and discrimination
22regardless of his or her sexual orientation and gender identity

 

 

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1or expression; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4we show our support for the goals and ideals of the National
5Day of Silence; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor to issue a proclamation
7calling on the people of the United States to observe the
8National Day of Silence with appropriate ceremonies, programs,
9and activities; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we encourage cities and local education
11authorities in the State of Illinois to adopt laws and policies
12to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment, and
13discrimination against students, teachers, and other school
14staff, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender
15identity or expression, so that our nation's schools are
16institutions where all individuals are able to focus on
17learning.