Biden is appointing a point person to speak to schools about book bans: NPR
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, center, helps raise a pride flag outside the Department of Energy as the Biden administration celebrates Pride Month.
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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, center, helps raise a pride flag outside the Department of Energy as the Biden administration celebrates Pride Month.
Draw Angerer/Getty Images
President Biden will announce new actions on Thursday to try to address discrimination against LGBTQI+ Americans, including the appointment of a new point person at the Department of Education to address an increase in book bans.
“In too many parts of our country, LGBTQ Americans are being targeted for who they are and that, simply put, is discrimination,” Biden’s domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden said during a call with reporters.
The book ban coordinator at the Department of Education will make schools aware that book bans can violate federal civil rights laws if they create a hostile environment for students, Tanden said. « Book bans erode our democracy, remove vital learning resources for students, and can contribute to stigma and isolation, » she said.
Biden will deliver remarks on the matter during a Pride Month event Thursday night with LGBTQI+ families on the South Lawn of the White House.
Other new stocks launching on Thursday include:
- a Department of Homeland Security community safety program to work with LGBTQI+ community centers, clinics, and small businesses like restaurants and bars to provide training for bomb threats, active shooters, and cyber threats
- a notice to mental health providers of health and human services to help provide evidence-based care for transgender youth
- regulations to protect LGBTQI+ children in foster care and place them in safe and appropriate homes
