Kanawha School Board Strengthens LGBT Protections

The Kanawha County school board has approved policy changes meant to protect prospective and current lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees from discrimination.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the board approved the changes at a meeting Thursday. Among the changes was adding “ancestry and sexual orientation” to the equal opportunity section of the school system’s cultural diversity and human relations policy.

The change adds a definition of sexual orientation: “actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or gender identity or expression of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s assigned sex at birth.”

The revision also crosses out the phrase “any other status protected by federal, state or local law,” which was part of the list of classes protected from discrimination. There is no federal or state law banning discrimination against LGBT individuals.