Guilford Discrimination Policy

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Guilford Policy Plows New Ground

Special Report - January 23, 2004
The Guilford County Board of Education approved a new policy on January 13 “to maintain a learning environment that is free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination” in the county’s public schools. According to the policy, “this includes, but is not limited to, harassment, bullying, and discrimination based on an individual's real or perceived race, color, sex, religion, creed, political belief, age, national origin, linguistic and language differences, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, socioeconomic status, height, weight, physical characteristics, marital status, parental status, or disability.”

Most notable is the inclusion of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity/expression” and the far-reaching scope of the policy. According to the policy, “It shall be a violation of this policy for any student, teacher, administrator, or other school personnel to harass, bully, or discriminate against any person based upon any of the differences listed above.” This could mean that the school system can threaten to suspend a student or fire a teacher or other school personnel if they express opposition to homosexuality outside of the school environment. It also could mean that someone who intentionally states their “sexual orientation” in a job interview may be given preferential treatment in hiring because the school system will want to avoid the possibility of a discrimination lawsuit if that person is not hired. At a minimum, students in the Guilford County public school system could be deprived of accurate and truthful information about the physical and emotional harms of sexual promiscuity and deviant sexual behaviors, such as homosexuality and bisexuality. It may also protect students, teachers and other school personnel who openly promote homosexuality in the schools, who cross-dress, or who practice any other perverse sexual behaviors. In addition to trampling upon the constitutionally protected free speech and freedom of religion of those who consider homosexual acts to be immoral, unhealthy, and illegal, this policy endorses homosexuality and undermines the nine-year-old state law that requires public schools to teach that “abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage is the expected standard for all school-aged children,” and that “a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage is the best lifelong means of avoiding diseases transmitted by sexual contact, including [AIDS].” According to reports in the Greensboro News & Record, homosexual activists lauded the board’s action.