School Discrimination

I the past I have written about school systems that continue to discrimination and avoid obeying the law, well the U.S. Department of Education just posted a webpage with resources for both the student and the school administrators…

Because every student is entitled to equal educational opportunities regardless of race, color, or national origin, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued new guidance that highlights and explains what Federal law requires regarding the provision of educational resources, how OCR investigates resource disparities, and what States, school districts, and schools can do to meet their obligations to all their students.

One section that jumped out at me was,

Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act
Overview of the Law
On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Part of No Child Left Behind is the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, Section 9525 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by Section 901 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (the Boy Scouts Act), which applies to public elementary and secondary schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), and State educational agencies (SEAs) that receive Federal funds made available through the Department of Education. Under the Boy Scouts Act, which became effective on January 8, 2002, no such public school, LEA or SEA that provides an opportunity for one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discriminate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society, that wishes to meet at the school.
OCR is charged with enforcing the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act. Complaints alleging violations of this law may be filed using the OCR online complaint form or by contacting the OCR office with authority to handle complaints where the institution or entity you are complaining about is located.

What does this mean?

It means that the Boy Scouts can discriminate all they want because they don’t have to obey non-discrimination laws. They can bar gay scoutmasters or trans-scouts and there is nothing that we can do to prevent them from meeting at the school.