Youth | Rights & Protections | Vermont

What are my rights as an LGBTQ+ student?

All Vermont public school students have the right:

  • To be safe in school without being bullied,
  • To access information about LGBTQ+ subjects, including educational websites,
  • To dress and present yourself in a manner consistent with your gender identity,
  • To free speech and expression. This means you have the right to express ideas that may offend other people, and you have the right to disagree with others, as long as you express those ideas in a respectful way.

All Vermont public and many private school students have the right:

  • To be protected from discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or HIV status,
  • To form a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) that gets treated the same as every other non-curricular group. This means equal funding, access to facilities, and the ability to choose your group’s name.

Outside of school you have the right:

  • To be protected from discrimination based on your actual or perceived sexual orientation, HIV status, or gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations (like restaurants or stores).
  • To give your own consent to get tested for HIV without your parents’ permission. For more specific information, see the “HIV/AIDS” Issue Area.
  • To report to the police anyone in or out of school who physically harms you, threatens you, or vandalizes your property.

Are there any state laws that protect me from harassment, hazing, and bullying at school?

Yes. It is the policy of the state of Vermont that all Vermont educational institutions provide “safe, orderly, civil and positive learning environments. Harassment, hazing, and bullying have no place and will not be tolerated in Vermont schools” (16 V.S.A § 570).

Bullying is defined as an act (including an electronic one) directed against a student by another student or group of students that:

  1. is repeated over time;
  2. is intended to ridicule, humiliate or intimidate; and
  3. occurs during the school day on school property, on a bus or at a school-sponsored activity or before or after the school day on a school bus or at a school-sponsored activity; OR occurs at any other time and can be shown to pose a clear and substantial interference with a student’s right to access educational programs (16 V.S.A. § 11(a)(32)).

Harassment is defined as verbal, written, visual, or physical conduct (including by electronic means) motivated by a student’s or student’s family member’s actual or perceived characteristic such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability that is intended to:

  1. objectively and substantially undermining and detracting from or interfering with educational performance or access to school resources; or
  2. creating an objectively intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment (16 V.S.A. § 11(a)(26)(A)).

Hazing is defined as any act against a student who is pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization that is affiliated with an educational institution and that is intended to have the effect of (or be reasonably expected to have the effect of) humiliating, intimidating or demeaning the student or endangering the physical or mental health of the student (16 V.S.A. § 11(a)(30)(A)).

What are schools required to do to prevent bullying, harassment, and hazing?

All public and approved independent schools must develop, adopt, ensure the enforcement of, and make available to all students, staff, and parents, bullying, harassment, and hazing prevention policies that shall be at least as stringent as the model policies developed by the Vermont Department of Education (16 V.S.A. § 570(b)). The model policies can be found at the Agency of Education.

All of these policies must include:

  1. Annually notifying the students, staff, and parents about the policies and procedures;
  2. A procedure that directs students, staff, and parents to report violations and file complaints;
  3. A procedure for investigating reports of violations and complaints;
  4. A description of the circumstances under which the violation may be reported to a law enforcement agency;
  5. Consequences and appropriate remedial action for those who violate the policy;
  6. A description of the training that teachers and other staff will receive in preventing, recognizing, and responding to violations; and
  7. Designation of two or more people at each school to receive complaints (16 V.S.A. §§ 570a (harassment), 570b (hazing), 570c (bullying)).

Harassment and hazing are also explicitly prohibited at Vermont postsecondary schools, which are required to establish policies and enforcement procedures to address harassment complaints (16 V.S.A. § 178).

Èske lekòl yo ka reglemante règleman kont entimidasyon deyò lakou lekòl la?

Wi, Lakou Siprèm Etazini an nan Mahanoy Area School Dist. V. B. L., anplis konklizyon ke elèv yo gen dwa laj pou yo pale ak eksprime tèt yo deyò lekòl la, li te deklare tou:

“Circumstances that may implicate a school’s regulatory interests [outside school] include serious or severe bullying or harassment targeting particular individuals; threats aimed at teachers or other students…” 

Does Vermont have specific guidance for schools to follow to protect transgender students?

Yes. The Vermont Agency of Education has established best practices for schools regarding transgender and gender nonconforming students. These practices are intended to help school and district administrators take steps to create a culture in which transgender and gender nonconforming students feel safe, supported, and fully included and to meet each school’s obligation to provide equal educational opportunities for all students. These practices are intended to help schools ensure a safe learning environment free of discrimination and harassment and to promote the educational and social integration of transgender and gender-nonconforming students.

The best practices include the following:

  • Lekòl yo ta dwe respekte non ak pwonon yon elèv transganr;
  • Lekòl yo ta dwe respekte vi prive elèv transganr yo konsènan nenpòt enfòmasyon medikal, ansyen non, elatriye;
  • Non ak sèks ki sou dosye yon elèv ta dwe koresponn ak idantite sèks elèv la;
  • Elèv transjan yo ta dwe kapab itilize twalèt, vestiyè, ak espas pou chanje rad ki koresponn ak idantite seksyèl yo;
  • Nan nenpòt aktivite ki separe selon sèks (tankou atletik), elèv transganr yo ta dwe kapab patisipe nan yon fason ki koresponn ak idantite sèks yo.

For more information about the best practices, see: Continuing Best Practices for Schools Regarding Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students

Does the Vermont anti-discrimination law also protect students?

Yes, schools (public, independent and postsecondary) are considered places of public accommodation (9 V.S.A. § 4501), and therefore they may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in their accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges (9 V.S.A. § 4502). As a result, if you are discriminated against, you may be able to pursue a complaint at the Human Rights Commission or in Superior Court.

For more information about the Vermont anti-discrimination law and how to file a discrimination complaint, see the “Discrimination” Issue Area.

Èske gen lwa federal ki pwoteje elèv yo?

Wi, Tit IX entèdi diskriminasyon kont elèv ki baze sou sèks nan nenpòt lekòl oswa kolèj ki resevwa lajan federal. Nan limyè desizyon Lakou Siprèm nan Bostock kont Konte Clayton, ki te detèmine ke diskriminasyon oryantasyon seksyèl ak idantite seksyèl se fòm diskriminasyon seksyèl, Depatman Edikasyon federal la, ki aplike Tit IX la, te deklare ke li pral entèprete nenpòt diskriminasyon oryantasyon seksyèl oswa idantite seksyèl kòm diskriminasyon seksyèl. 

Pou depoze yon plent nan Biwo Dwa Sivil Depatman Edikasyon federal la, gade:  Kijan pou depoze yon plent pou diskriminasyon nan Biwo pou Dwa Sivil yo. 

Ou ka pote plent bay kowòdinatè Tit IX lekòl ou a, epitou bay:

Biwo Dwa Sivil yo
Depatman Edikasyon Etazini an
Biwo Lapòs ak Tribinal John W. McCormack, Sal 222
Plas Biwo Lapòs la
Boston, MA 02109

Anplis de sa, gen kèk kalite diskriminasyon ak arasman ki ka vyole dwa konstitisyonèl yon elèv.

Kisa m ka fè si y ap fè diskriminasyon oswa entimidasyon kont mwen lekòl?

Gen plizyè fason pou abòde pwoblèm nan. Youn nan fason yo se mande sipò nan men yon zanmi, yon pwofesè, oswa yon konseye epi pale ak moun k ap deranje w yo. Sepandan, sa pa yon opsyon si ou pa santi w an sekirite pou fè sa.

Take a look at your school policies and notify whoever is supposed to be notified— usually a vice principal or Title IX coordinator. You should document any incidents of harassment or discrimination in writing with at least the date and time. Once you meet with the right officials, write yourself notes about what you told them and on what date, and ask when they will be getting back to you with a response. If they don’t help you or don’t follow through, you may wish to write to the principal and superintendent and ask for them to end the discrimination.

Si sa pa mache, ou ka vle konsidere tou pouswiv vil la legalman lè w kontakte Komisyon Connecticut sou Dwa Moun ak Opòtinite oubyen Biwo Dwa Sivil Depatman Edikasyon federal la. 

Sa a se yon domèn lalwa konplike epi li difisil pou jwenn emosyon tou. Kontakte GLAD Answers lè w ranpli fòm imèl la nan Repons GLAD or by phone at 800-455-4523 (GLAD) to discuss options.

Do students have the right to form Gay/Straight Alliances in their schools?

Yes, as to high school students; probably, as to middle school students. A federal law known as the “Equal Access Act” requires that all federally funded secondary schools provide equal access to extra-curricular clubs. So long as a school has at least one student-led extra-curricular club, it must allow additional clubs to organize and must provide them with equal access to meeting spaces, facilities, and funding without discriminating based on a club’s purpose, be that purpose religious, philosophical, political, or otherwise (20 U.S.C. § 4071).

Does Vermont have a law that bans conversion therapy?

Yes, in 2015, Vermont passed 18 V.S.A. § 8352, Outpatient Mental Health Treatment for Minors.

State and national medical, mental health, and child welfare organizations all oppose the practice of conversion therapy, a practice that claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Extensive professional literature shows the practice to be both ineffective in changing sexual orientation or gender identity and harmful to youth. Young people who have been subjected to conversion therapy are at increased risk of depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, and illegal drug use.

Under the law’s provisions, any licensed mental health provider who practices conversion therapy would be subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing agency.

Resous

Bullying and Harassment in Vermont Schools: VTLawHelp.org.

Agency of Education FAQ on best practices for transgender students: School Best Practice FAQs – Outright Vermont  

Tit IX la pwoteje elèv yo kont diskriminasyon ki baze sou oryantasyon seksyèl ak idantite seksyèl: US Department of Education Confirms Title IX Protects Students from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Legal Guidelines Regarding the Equal Access Act: Legal Guidelines Regarding the Equal Access Act and the Recognition of Student-Led Non-Curricular Groups (MS Word).

FAQ About Equal Access Act (PDF)

Vèmont LGBTQ+ Resources  

Ka ak Defans

To see Youth cases or advocacy in which GLAD has been directly involved in Vermont, go to Ka ak Defans – GLAD and under “By Issue” select “Youth” and under “By Location” select “Vermont.”

Nouvèl ak Kominike pou laprès

To see news and press releases about Youth in Vermont, go to Nouvèl ak Kominike pou laprès – GLAD and under “By Issue” select “Youth” and under “By Location” select “Vermont.”