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This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Supporting the goals and ideals of the 2026 Day of Silence in bringing attention to anti-LGBTQI+ bullying, harassment, discrimination, and other forms of victimization faced by individuals in schools, and calling on communities across the country to take action to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights protections, and freedom from erasure for all students, particularly LGBTQI+ young people, in K-12 schools., committees such as Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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April 15, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
OF SILENCE IN BRINGING ATTENTION TO ANTI-LGBTQI+ BULLYING, HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND OTHER FORMS OF VICTIMIZATION FACED BY INDIVIDUALS
IN SCHOOLS, AND CALLING ON COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO TAKE
PROTECTIONS, AND FREEDOM FROM ERASURE FOR ALL STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY
LGBTQI+ YOUNG PEOPLE, IN K-12 SCHOOLS
Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Booker, Ms. Warren, Mr. Markey, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Res. 670
Whereas, for every year since its initiation in 1996,
LGBTQI+ students, teachers, and allies have recognized a
National Day of Silence to bring attention to the silencing
of LGBTQI+ students through harassment and bullying;
Whereas, for more than 2 decades, Congress has supported a
resolution for a National Day of Silence and a resolution for
No Name-Calling Week, and most recently, Congress has
supported a “Rise Up Resolution” to demand equal
educational opportunities, basic civil rights protections,
and freedom from erasure for all students;
Whereas young people, teachers, school staff, families, and
communities must be free from transphobia, homophobia,
racism, sexism, and ableism in K-12 schools;
Whereas K-12 schools must be safe and inclusive learning
environments that include and affirm LGBTQI+ young people,
especially those who are transgender, nonbinary, intersex,
Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people with
disabilities, and those who are from communities that
experience marginalization;
Whereas LGBTQI+ young people frequently experience bias-
based bullying and harassment, discrimination, and punitive
discipline that increases the likelihood they will enter the
school-to-prison pipeline;
Whereas Glisten's 2025 National School Climate Survey
showed that—
(1) 58 percent of LGBTQI+ students reported being verbally
harassed by their peers at school because of their sexual
orientation, and nearly 57 percent because of their gender
identity;
(2) nearly 23 percent of LGBTQI+ students reported being
physically harassed by their peers at school because of their
sexual orientation, and 23 percent because of their gender
identity;
(3) 8 percent of LGBTQI+ students reported being physically
assaulted by their peers at school because of their sexual
orientation, and over 9 percent because of their gender
identity; and
(4) for Black, Indigenous, and students of color, these
trends were exacerbated, with 75 percent of students
reporting experiencing harassment or assault related to their
sexual orientation or gender identity;
Whereas Glisten's 2025 National School Climate Survey found
that 67 percent of LGBTQI+ students reported that they felt
unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation or
gender identity in 2025, and nearly 30 percent reported
missing at least 1 entire school day in the preceding month
because of safety concerns;
Whereas over 200 anti-LGBTQI+ education bills have been
introduced each year in State legislatures across the United
States, the majority of which specifically target transgender
and nonbinary young people, including—
(1) in the 27 States that have enacted policies between
2021 and 2025 that prohibit transgender students from playing
alongside their peers on school sports teams; and
(2) in the 20 States that have enacted laws between 2021
and 2025 that prevent transgender students from using the
school bathroom or locker room that corresponds with their
gender identity;
Whereas LGBTQI+ young people are more likely than their
non-LGBTQI+ peers to experience mental health concerns,
including stress, anxiety, and depression;
Whereas nearly half of LGBTQI+ young people seriously
considered suicide in the last year, a trend that increases
among Indigenous, Black, and multiracial LGBTQI+ young
people;
Whereas Glisten's 2025 National School Climate Survey found
that 7 percent of LGBTQI+ youth surveyed had to change
schools in the previous year because they felt uncomfortable
and unsafe at school, and more than a quarter of LGBTQI+
students who did not see themselves graduating from high
school said that anti-LGBTQ+ policies or practices at school
were a contributing factor;
Whereas States have passed or attempted to pass legislation
that erases or censors LGBTQI+ individuals, history, and
contributions from classroom literature and curricula,
including the 14 States that enacted laws censoring
instruction related to LGBTQI+ people;
Whereas these laws harm students and force families to
consider leaving their homes, as demonstrated by Williams
Institute reporting, which found that, in the year following
the 2022 passage of the Parental Rights in Education Act by
the Florida State legislature, 56 percent of LGBTQI+ parents
of students in the State of Florida considered moving out of
the State, and 16.5 percent have taken steps to move out of
the State;
Whereas 90 percent of transgender and nonbinary young
people say that recent debates prompted by State legislation
restricting the rights of transgender individuals have
negatively impacted their mental health;
Whereas data provided by the Department of Justice shows
that there were a reported 222 anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in
schools in 2024;
Whereas every young person must have equal educational
opportunity and freedom from the fear that their basic civil
and educational rights will be taken away from them;
Whereas young people who develop in positive school
climates that are free from bullying, harassment, and
discrimination report greater physical and psychological
safety, greater mental well-being, and improved educational
and life outcomes;
Whereas positive school transformation must recognize that
safety is too low of a bar and that all communities deserve
to be acknowledged and affirmed in schools;
Whereas students, families, educators, and community
members in every State and territory are advocating for safe
and inclusive learning environments that affirm LGBTQI+ young
people, particularly those who are transgender, nonbinary,
intersex, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people with
disabilities;
Whereas affirming policies such as enumerated anti-bullying
protections, gender neutral dress code guidelines, and
inclusive learning practices are proven strategies to address
hostile learning environments for all students; and
Whereas we must all demand the best possible future for all
young people in schools, particularly those who identify as
LGBTQI+, without exception: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) supports the goals and ideals of the “National Day of
Silence”;
(2) recognizes the contributions of students, families,
educators, and community members who participate in the
“National Day of Silence” to draw attention to the
bullying, harassment, assault, and discrimination faced by
LGBTQI+ students; and
(3) encourages each State, city, and local educational
agency to adopt laws and policies to prohibit bullying of and
discrimination against students, teachers, and other school
staff on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender
identity, or sex characteristics (including intersex traits),
so that the schools of the United States are institutions
where all individuals are able to focus on learning.