More Than 200 Civil Rights and Education Organizations Call on Congress to Reject Book Bans and Bigotry, Support Inclusion and Respect

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]

230 civil rights groups call for support of the Bill of Rights for Students and Parents (H.Res. 219) and condemn Student Exclusion Act (H.R. 5)

WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, joined by 229 national, state, and local civil and human rights and education organizations, called on Congress to support H.Res. 219, the Bill of Rights for Students and Parents. The resolution serves as an inclusive path forward in stark contrast to the discriminatory, harmful language of H.R. 5, which will only serve to keep vulnerable students less safe.

The letter states: “As the civil and human rights community, we have fought for more than 100 years for the rights of all students and parents to attend and be fully included in well-resourced public schools that prepare them for their futures. The Bill of Rights for Students and Parents sets forth a vision respecting and honoring the dignity and worth of every child — a vision supported by the overwhelming majority of parents in the country. In contrast, H.R. 5 seeks to undermine the relationship between parents and teachers, to facilitate book banning, and to make our most marginalized children less safe.

“During this time in which proponents of discrimination and exclusion are creating policies and legislation to harm students and undermine the learning environment for everyone, support for developing supportive, inclusive, safe, and responsive public schools could not be more important. In a recent national survey, 80 percent or more of parents said that it was very or extremely important that their child be honest, ethical, hardworking, helpful to those in need, and accepting of people who are different from them. It is these parental values that are reflected in H.Res. 219. No matter our color, background, or zip code, we want our kids to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are, integrity in how we treat others, and courage to do what’s right.”

Liz King, senior director of the education equity program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said of The Bill of Rights for Students and Parents: “What the majority of parents want for children — the chance to learn, grow, and thrive — should be guiding Congress’s work, instead of a narrow agenda of exclusion and bigotry. The civil rights community rejects mean-spirited attacks by some in Congress, attempts to whitewash history, and efforts to exclude LGBTQ+ families. We urge all members of Congress to speak up and speak out for the right to learn with and from people different from one another, the right to be treated with respect and dignity, and the opportunity to work together towards an inclusive future. We can and must do better for the sake of our children and our country.”

Read the full letter here.

Signatories:

National (135)

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

A Way Home America

AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education)

Act To Change

Advocacy Institute

Advocates for Youth

All4Ed

American Association of University Women

American Atheists

American Civil Liberties Union

American Humanist Association

American School Counselor Association

Anti-Defamation League

Apiary for Practical Support

Arab American Institute (AAI)

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

Athlete Ally

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action

Campaign for Our Shared Future

Campus Pride

Care in Action

Catholics for Choice

Center for American Progress

Center for Applied Transgender Studies

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR)

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

Collective Power for Reproductive Justice

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

EducateUS: SIECUS In Action

Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC)

Education Reform Now

Empowering Pacific Islander Communities

End Rape On Campus

Equal Rights Advocates

Equality Federation

Equity Forward

Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Program

Family Equality

Feminist Campus

Fenway Institute

First Focus Campaign for Children

FORGE, Inc.

Girls Inc.

GLAAD

GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD)

GLSEN

Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights

Hindu American Foundation

Hispanic Federation

Houston Area Urban League

Human Rights Campaign

Human Rights First

If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice

Impact Fund

IDRA

In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

Indivisible

interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth

Interfaith Alliance

Japanese American Citizens League

Juvenile Law Center

KIPP Public Schools

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement

Lambda Legal

LatinoJustice PRLDEF

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Lawyers for Good Government

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Matthew Shepard Foundation

MomsRising

Movement Advancement Project

NARAL Pro-Choice America

National Association of School Psychologists

National Black Justice Coalition

National Center for Learning Disabilities

National Center for Lesbian Rights

National Center for Parent Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment (National PLACE)

National Center for Transgender Equality

National Center for Youth Law

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans

National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)

National Domestic Workers Alliance

National Education Association

National Employment Law Project

National Hispanic Media Coalition

National LGBT Cancer Network

National Organization for Women

National Urban League

National Women’s Law Center

New American Leaders Action Fund

New Generation Equity

Oregonizers

People For the American Way

PFLAG National

Physicians for Reproductive Health

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Plume Health

Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)

Public Citizen

Public Justice

Red Wine & Blue

Reproductive Rights Coalition

School Board Partners

Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA)

SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

SPAN Parent Advocacy Network

SPLC Action Fund

Stand for Children

Tahirih Justice Center

The Advocates for Human Rights

The Arc of the United States

The Education Trust

The Personal Stories Project

The Sikh Coalition

The Workers Circle

TransAthlete

True Colors United

Trust Women

UnidosUS

Unitarian Universalist Association

United State of Women (USOW)

URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity

VoteProChoice

Voto Latino

Wayfinder Foundation

We Testify

Whole Woman’s Health

Whole Woman’s Health Alliance

Woodhull Freedom Foundation

YWCA USA

 

State/Local (95)

A Woman’s Choice of Charlotte

A Woman’s Choice of Greensboro

A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville

A Woman’s Choice of Raleigh

Acadiana Queer Collective

Aces NYC

Action Together New Jersey

African American Office of Gay Concerns

AIDS Foundation Chicago

Alliance for Quality Education

Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum

Avow Texas

Bans Off Miami

Black Californians United for Early Care and Education

Carolina for All

Central Florida Jobs with Justice

Chicago Abortion Fund

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights

Cobalt

Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC)

Democrats for Education Reform Massachusetts

Democrats for Education Reform New York

Detroit Disability Power

DFER Colorado

Disability Law Center

Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance

Education Reform Now

Education Reform Now CT

Education Reform Now Texas

Equality California

Equality Illinois

Equality South Dakota

Equality Virginia

EqualityMaine

Faces of Fallen Fathers

FL National Organization for Women

Florida Council of Churches

Florida Health Justice Project

Forever Caring Evonné

Gender Justice

GLSEN New Mexico

Greater Milwaukee Urban League

Greater Orlando National Organization for Women

Illinois Families for Public Schools

Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization

Indivisible DuPage

Indivisible Georgia Coalition

Indivisible Miami

Jane’s Due Process

JASMYN, Inc.

Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship

Latino Memphis

Learning Rights Law Center

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship

Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom

Louisiana Progress

Louisiana Trans Advocates

Maine Parent Federation

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Mazzoni Center

Memphis Urban League

Michigan Alliance for Special Education

Michigan Education Justice Coalition

Missouri Health Care for All

NASD

National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis

NJ Community Schools Coalition

North Carolina Justice Center

OutFront Minnesota

OutNebraska

Parent Education Organizing Council

Paterson Alliance

Paterson Education Foundation

PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education)

Pride Action Tank

Pro Choice Missouri

Pro-Choice North Carolina

Progress Florida

Queer Northshore

Rad Family, a project of North Jersey Pride

Reproductive Freedom Acadiana

Save Our Schools NJ

SHERo Mississippi

Silver State Equality-Nevada

Solid Foundation Youth Outreach

Southern Echo Inc.

St. Tammany Library Alliance

The Ezekiel Project

The Parents’ Place of MD

The Urban League of Philadelphia

The Womxn Project

Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh

Urban League of Middle Tennessee

Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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