06.16.06
Palm Beach board OKs school anti-bias measure
Sexual orientation included in contracts policy
The Palm Beach County School Board on May 31 voted unanimously to adopt a commercial nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation.
The new policy prohibits the school board from accepting bids or engaging in business with “any business firm that has discriminated on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other form of unlawful discrimination.”
It was the first time that the Palm Beach County School Board unanimously approved a nondiscrimination policy that included sexual orientation, according to Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
“Every other vote, there has been at least one or two votes against it,” Hoch said. “It’s been a long haul to get to this stage.”
Notably, school board member Tom Lynch, who has opposed gay rights efforts on the board in the past, voted for the new nondiscrimination policy. In March 2003, when the board voted to add sexual orientation to the school board’s anti-harassment policy, Lynch voted against that measure. Last month, Lynch angered gay activists when he referred to gay students as a protected “species.” He later apologized for the remark.
School board member Mark Hansen left the room prior to the vote, and board member Sandi Richmond did not attend the meeting.