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Jun 30, 2011
A lawsuit filed in Nashville challenging a new state law says the legislation voids school board policies that protect gay students from bullying and harassment.
The law prohibits local governments from creating anti-discrimination regulations that are stricter than the state’s and repealed a Nashville city ordinance barring companies that discriminate against gays and lesbians from doing business with the city. Nashville’s ordinance was broader than the state’s anti-discrimination laws, which only cover race, creed, color, religion, sex, age or national origin.
Attorney Abby Rubenfeld, who represents three Nashville councilmembers and other residents of the city, filed the lawsuit after the bill was signed into law in May. She said the text of the statute is written broadly enough that it could render invalid anti-bullying and harassment policies enacted by school boards that include sexual orientation or gender identity.
“It doesn’t just include ordinances, but any policy or any official actions by local governments,” Rubenfeld said. “And school boards are part of local government.”
