INDIANAPOLIS ─ Today, State Senator Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) proposed an amendment to House Bill (HB) 1549 which would have added language to Indiana code prohibiting charter schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation or marital status. March 31 is International Trans Visibility Day—a day dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people, while also raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.

Sen. Yoder had the following statement on the amendment:

“Today of all days, we should be providing for the safety of Indiana’s most vulnerable populations. We call our schools the great equalizer, but that doesn’t apply to people who are trans or people who aren’t heterosexual. Schools should be a safe place for all students regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, and the Chair of the Senate Education committee refusing to call a vote on my amendment today is a failure to protect young people.”