BY DANIEL VICTOR
Of The Patriot-News
Far in the background of Red Land Senior High School senior David Moyer’s desire to take a male date to the homecoming dance without being harassed are two words in a policy book that have divided area school districts.
In the policies that aim to shield students from harassment, 15 area districts include language to protect “sexual orientation” along with other classifications. Nine districts omit the words or don’t have policies.
A policy “sends the message that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are a protected class in the same way any other minorities are,” said Michelle Simmons, director of the Common Roads support group for such teens. “Having a policy in place creates a culture of tolerance and acceptance.”
The West Shore School District does not include sexual orientation in its harassment policy, but that didn’t stop Moyer from twice taking male dates to homecoming.
“And no one said anything,” he said.
In Pennsylvania, sexual minorities are not legally protected by the Human Relations Commission, but Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania School Code was amended in 1999 to protect sexual minorities from discrimination.
That was an impetus for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to add sexual orientation to its unlawful harassment policy in 2000, according to Director of Policy Services Sharon Fissel. PSBA policies are distributed to member schools as nonbinding recommendations.
Several of the schools that omit the words have a catch-all such as “includes but is not limited to” preceding the list of classifications, but Fissel said it’s important to be inclusive.
“We recommend that the districts do have it spelled out specifically so that when they go to the policy to implement it and enforce it, they know what it covers,” she said.
The policies tend to inflame conservatives, said Warren Throckmoyer, an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College, whose research has focused on sexual orientation.
He said he is not aware of research on the effectiveness of anti-harassment policies, and he promotes anti-bullying curricula as an alternative.
“A lot of times, conservatives worry that the problems with bullying is just a way for schools to include indoctrination about sexual orientation,” he said.
Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, said her concern is with the normalization of homosexuality.
Students “shouldn’t be harassed because of their lifestyle, but the school should not be promoting their lifestyle,” she said. “By adding sexual orientation or gender identity, that’s what they’re doing.”
Several school superintendents said their policies were updated to include sexual orientation after PSBA sent out its recommendation, with varying amounts of resistance from the public.
“That was quite a debate,” Susquehanna Twp. Superintendent David Volkman said. “In the end, the board decided they thought it was best to include it with all the others.”
The schools that don’t have the words vary in how harassment is covered. Cumberland Valley, Greenwood, Northern York, South Middleton, Upper Dauphin and West Shore have long lists of classifications without sexual orientation, though South Middleton has proposed a revised policy that would add the words.
Susquenita, West Perry and Central Dauphin do not include sexual orientation in their policies.
Greenwood Superintendent Ed Burns, whose school policy was revised in 1998, said harassment of homosexual students is prohibited.
“I think it’s clearly covered, let’s put it that way,” he said.
Having words in a policy doesn’t make harassment go away, Simmons said. She considers teaching and relationship building as better tactics.
But “it has to start with the administration,” Simmons said. “If they send the message that that kind of language is not acceptable, maybe it filters to the faculty, it filters to other staff. Then eventually the students get to understand that and hear it.”
Moyer, who works as an intern at Common Roads, said he’s had a few uncomfortable moments in school, but he’s never felt in danger. A bleacher full of students yelled “faggot!” at him as he walked to gym class once, but he ignored them and kept walking, he said.
“It’s not the most comfortable thing, but it happens,” he said. “That’s just common vernacular when it comes to high school kids.”
DANIEL VICTOR : 255-8144 or dvictor@patriot-news.com
INFOBOX:
– A SAMPLE POLICY FROM MIDDLETOWN For purposes of this policy, harassment shall consist of verbal, written, graphic or physical conduct relating to an individual’s race, color, national origin/ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion when such conduct: 1. Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it affects an individual’s ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program or activity or creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment. 2. Has the purpose or effect of substantially or unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic performance. 3. Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s learning opportunities.
Middletown Area School District, 2002
HOW DISTRICTS WORD THEIR POLICIES
Schools that include “sexual orientation” in harassment policies:
* Big Spring, Camp Hill, Carlisle, Derry Twp., East Pennsboro, Halifax, Harrisburg, Lower Dauphin, Newport, Mechanicsburg, Middletown, Millersburg, Shippensburg, Susquehanna Twp., Steelton-Highspire.
Schools that don’t include “sexual orientation” in harassment policies:
* Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley, Greenwood, Northern York, South Middleton, Susquenita, Upper Dauphin, West Perry, West Shore.