Sex Discrimination in Schools (S 0012A as amended)

In response to last year’s controversy in Cranston over school-sponsored father-daughter dances, the General Assembly severely weakened the state’s sex discrimination laws by allowing schools to promote sex-segregated extracurricular activities.  In March, the ACLU testified before the Senate Education Committee that single-sex activities generally promote outdated stereotypes  – as in Cranston, where girls were offered a dance and boys a night out at a baseball game – and violate federal anti-discrimination laws.  Unfortunately, the Senate passed this legislation in April and the House followed suit in the very last hours of the session.   Read our letter to the Cranston School Department. The ACLU, joined by RI NOW and the Women's Fund of RI, has asked Governor Chafee to veto this regressive and discriminatory legislation.   The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, of which the National ACLU is a member, has also asked for a veto.  The governor refused to veto the legislation.