I've known teachers that have been ridiculed, driven out, had major job complications, just because of their sexuality (even myself). This is an important issue for many of our LGBTQ+ fellow citizens. When you're an LGBTQ+ teacher, you sometimes need to ask yourself daily how much can I share with my students about my life. How much do I need to hide from them in order to not rock the boat. In an ideal world and that world does exist in some districts, LGBTQ+ educators share as freely as their straight counterparts. But how many of those ideal schools and school districts exist? Stacy Bailey found out that her district did not support her living her life.
As hundreds of thousands of LGBT Americans and their allies are taking to the streets to celebrate during Pride month, a case out of Texas highlights the employment discrimination hurdles the community still needs to clear.
Stacy Bailey is a former teacher at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School in Arlington, Texas. She is suing the Mansfield Independent School District (MISD) for suspending her for discussing her sexual orientation in her classroom.
The 31-year-old art teacher lives in one of 28 states where it’s legal to suspend or fire someone because of his or her sexual identity. – FOXNews.com
Most of the argument revolves around Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer… to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
But does sex extend to sexual orientation as well as gender identity? Since April 2017, the 7th and 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have decided yes, Title VII does extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.
In the results of Price Waterhouse v Hopkins, Title VII extended to sexual stereotypes "meaning a person cannot be punished by an employer because they don’t act the way they their sex should act."
Will these 28 states come round finally? Or, with this current political environment, will that number grow?
For the map below and more explanation, visit lgbtmap.org
