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  • Connect, Share Knowledge, and Succeed Within the LGBTQ+ and Ally Legal Community.

    Climate Survey 2020

    Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center

    April 29, 2020

    Question 1 provided each school with a field to confirm or update their nondiscrimination statement.
     
    2. Does your law school intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ prospective students?
    Yes
    a. If ‘yes,’ how and where are your efforts directed?

    When the LSU Law Center’s OUTlaw student organization is active, the Admissions staff work with their membership to reach out to prospective students who have self-identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The recruiting staff have also attended and participated in recruitment events hosted by LGBTQ+ organizations. (The mission of OUTlaw is to create a climate at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in which it is safe and comfortable to be openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or an ally (“LGBT”).

    3. Does your law school's welcome packet for admitted students include mention of identity group support for LGBTQ+ students, as well as for students of color or other minorities?
    Yes
    4. Does your school offer students the option to self-identify (also known as "Self-ID") as LGBTQ+ in admissions applications or post-enrollment forms?
    No
    5. Does your law school offer transgender and nonbinary students who have not legally changed their names the ability to have their name-in-use reflected on their admission applications or post enrollment forms?:
    Yes
    6. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
    Only general diversity scholarships
    7. Does your law school actively seek to employ diverse staff/faculty/administrators, including openly LGBTQ+ individuals?:
    Yes
    a. If 'yes,' please detail how and where diversity recruitment efforts are directed:

    The Law Center is committed to employing a diverse staff/faculty/administrators. The faculty committee charged with faculty recruiting is routinely comprised of a diverse group of faculty members, including diversity of both gender and sexual orientation. The committee advertises faculty positions widely, including circulation in the AALS faculty recruiting bulletins and postings on numerous blogs and LISTSERVs, and includes a statement of diversity in each. Similarly, staff and administrator positions are advertised widely through the LSU Human Resource Management Department, and also include statements of equal opportunity.

    8. Does your law school conduct a "Self-ID" program which allows staff/faculty/administrators to voluntarily and (if they desire) confidentially identify their gender identity and sexual orientation?:
    No
    9. How many faculty (not staff/administrators) are employed by your law school in total?
    40
    10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
    5
    Lesbian
    N/A
    Gay
    N/A
    Bisexual/Pansexual
    N/A
    Transgender /Nonbinary
    N/A
    Queer or gender/sexual orientation minority
    N/A
    11. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty of color does your law school currently employ in total?
    2
    12. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school?
    50
    13. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
    Zero
    Lesbian
    Zero
    Gay
    Zero
    Bisexual/Pansexual
    Zero
    Transgender/Nonbinary
    Zero
    Queer or gender / sexual orientation minority
    Zero
    14. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators of color does your law school currently employ in total?
    Zero
    15. Does your law school provide employee benefits such as health insurance, family medical leave, parental leave, and nontraditional family planning like assisted reproduction and/or adoptive benefits?
    Yes
    a. If 'yes,' are those employee benefits available on equal terms to employees in same-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships as they are to employees in different-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships?
    Yes
    b. If you answered 'yes' to #15, are those employee benefit plans inclusive of the specific needs of LGBTQ+ employees (i.e., are assisted reproductive benefits offered without the need for extended traditional attempts at pregnancy, are care techniques such as mammograms, prostate exams, hysterectomies, etc. available to employees of all genders, are parental leave policies equal for people of all genders, etc.)?
    Unsure
    c. If you answered 'yes' to #15a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #15b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

    The benefit programs offered through LSU meet all laws and regulations.

    Louisiana State University Health Plan
    Health Plan Notices of Privacy Practices

    16. Does your law school offer transition-related health benefits including hormone therapy, gender counseling, gender-affirming surgeries, etc. to transgender employees and/or employees who are undergoing gender transition?
    Unsure
    a. If 'yes' or ‘unsure,’ please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

    The benefit programs offered through LSU meet all laws and regulations.

    Louisiana State University Health Plan
    Health Plan Notices of Privacy Practices

    17. Does your law school offer a student benefit plan including health insurance with nontraditional family planning like assisted reproduction and/or adoptive benefits, and/or any additional benefits such as access to campus facilities?
    No
    18. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses who are transgender or undergoing gender transition?
    No
    a. If 'yes,' please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

    Louisiana State University Health Plan
    Health Plan Notices of Privacy Practices

    19. Do all students at your law school have access to on-campus health, counseling and therapy services either through the law school or the larger University?
    Yes
    a. If 'yes,' are your school's on-campus health care providers trained to ensure they can provide culturally and clinically competent care to LGBTQ+ patients, particularly transgender and non-binary patients?
    Yes
    b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #19a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

    Beginning in May 2019, the Law Center entered into an agreement with the Student Health Center to employ a counselor dedicated to helping law students in particular. This counselor is housed primarily in the law building for efficient access to law students and sees only law students. This counselor has a Master’s level degree in Social Work from the LSU School of Social Work, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Louisiana. The counselor recently attended the Safe Space training offered at LSU by The LGBTQ+ Project, a unit of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. This training explores basic LGBTQ+ terminology and ways to make language more inclusive, to identify some of the privileges of being a straight, non-transgender/cisgender person, and to discuss the coming-out process, as well as ways in which one can be a better ally to LGBTQ+ students on campus.

    20. Does your law school provide single-stall restrooms available to people of all genders in each law school building?
    Yes
    a. If 'yes,' please describe how the single-stall restroom(s) is/are identified (i.e., what does the signage say, is it identified on building maps and online resources), the number of single-stall restrooms available in each law school building, and whether these are accessible for people with disabilities in each building or floor

    The LSU Law Center provides 11 gender-inclusive, single-stall restrooms in some areas of the law building. These restrooms are identified with signage displaying generic male, female, and wheelchair images, as well as raised braille lettering. These restrooms are all ADA-compliant and fully accessible. LSU does not have a formal restroom policy.

    21. Does your law school have a restroom policy applicable to gender-segregated (i.e., "Women's Restroom" and "Men's Restroom") facilities which ensures that transgender students/staff/administrators/faculty have access to facilities that match their gender identity?
    No
    22. Does your law school have one or more annual LGBTQ+ specific course offerings (e.g., LGBTQ+ Law and Policy, Sexual Orientation and the Law, Gender and the Law (focused on trans-inclusive materials), etc.)?
    No
    23. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group that is supported by the administration?
    Yes
    24. Does your law school provide funding, including travel support, for LGBTQ+ students to participate in LGBTQ+-focused learning and/or career services opportunities?
    Yes
    a. If 'yes,' please provide details and examples of when and how those opportunities have been utilized in the past three years:

    The Law Center provides funding, including travel support, to law students in accordance with state and university regulations, and in keeping with its Diversity and Inclusion Statement. Law student organizations are chartered by the Student Bar Association, and currently include the OUTlaw organization. Per the Law Center website, the mission of OUTlaw is to create a climate at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in which it is safe and comfortable to be openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or an ally (“LGBT”). OUTlaw seeks to create an atmosphere of acceptance and comfort, instill justice, and combat discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The organization exists to provide support and a sense of community while simultaneously engaging in political activism and advocacy. The organization is able to access funding for programming, which may include guest speakers, organizational meetings, and travel. In the past and when requested, the OUTlaw organization has been provided funding to send a limited number of members to the Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair. As a student-led group, the level of activity varies from one academic year to another, but the Law Center chapter has tended to be active since its founding approximately 10 years ago.

    25. Does your law school have a hate/bias incident policy that faculty, staff/administrators, and students are required to follow?
    Yes
    a. If 'yes' to #25, does that process specifically identify sexual orientation AND/OR gender identity/expression as protected categories?
    Yes, both
    b. If 'yes' to #25, does the policy set out a clear hate bias/incident reporting process for faculty, staff/administrators, and students to utilize if necessary?
    Yes
    26. Does your law school provide mandatory anti-sexual harassment training that explicitly covers same-sex harassment and harassment of transgender/nonbinary people, for all staff/faculty/administrators, at least every three years?
    No
    27. Does your law school provide diversity and inclusion training that incorporates robust LGBTQ+ curriculum as well as anti-racism curriculum, at least every three years? NOTE: Please check all that apply.
    Other
    a. If you selected 'other,' please describe your diversity and inclusion training options:

    In Fall 2019, the entering first-year class received implicit bias programming focused on LGBTQ+ issues as part of a professionalism component of mandatory orientation. Also in Fall 2019, the Diversity and Professionalism Committee (comprised of faculty and student appointees) sponsored a workshop series on implicit bias. Students and faculty were invited to attend any and all workshops. The planned topics of the implicit bias workshop segments included gender, poverty, cultural, and LGBTQ+ issues. (However, the scheduled speaker for the LGBTQ+ segment had scheduling conflicts, causing that segment to be rescheduled into the Spring 2020.) While no individual segment of the workshop series focused solely on racial identity, each segment touched on intersections of bias and race. The Law Center also offers a “Fit to Practice” series to our students in the spring, a nine-part workshop series that is focused on the young attorney’s role in civil litigation case management and attorney well-being. A segment was planned for Spring 2020 that would have included a speaker on implicit bias; however, the University was closed in March due to the COVID-19 health crisis and all events were canceled.

    28. Please describe all additional ways, not identified through your earlier responses, in which your law school works to be safe, inclusive, and welcoming for its LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and administrators:

    The Louisiana State University Law Center (LSU Law Center) diligently works to be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff in a number of ways. Many law staff and faculty have participated in Safe Space training seminars that educate us on the particular needs and perspectives of LGBTQ+ students; participants thereafter mark their offices with Safe Space stickers for easy identification.  The Law Library assembles a display featuring important moments in LGBTQ+ history during Gay History Month each year.  In addition, the OUTlaw student organization sponsors events and speakers on topics of interest for LGBTQ+ students throughout the school year.  In the past, those events have ranged from national experts speaking on major law-related topics impacting the LGBTQ+ community to local LGBTQ+ attorneys speaking to the realities of being Out on the job market and at work.

    In addition to the law school’s Statement of Nondiscrimination,  the LSU Law Center has adopted a Diversity and Inclusion Statement that can be found at this URL:  https://www.law.lsu.edu/students/diversity/.  It reads: “LSU Law is committed to diversity and inclusion, and we believe the legal profession benefits from varied perspectives and backgrounds and is more creative and effective when its membership reflects the full spectrum of civil society. Our recognition of the value of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession commits us to the responsibility of creating and maintaining an intellectual and social climate at the Law Center that welcomes all and respects the rights, differences, and dignity of others. We strive to bring together diverse ideas, perspectives, and talents within the LSU Law community, and we welcome and support our students, faculty, and staff of different races, genders, gender identities/expressions, sexual orientations, ethnicities, national origins, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, religion, spirituality, disability, family status, experiences, opinions, and ideas. Through respect for differences, our students, faculty, and staff bring a wealth of perspectives and cultural experiences that enhance our classrooms and our ability to achieve academic excellence. We aim to create an environment where every student has the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential, and we pride ourselves in promoting an inclusive and respectful environment for the exchange of ideas.”

    During the Admissions process, admitted students receive information about all student organizations, including the OUTlaw organization.  

    To question #4, the Law Center does not offer the Self-ID option, but students do have the ability to identify as LGBTQ+ in their diversity statement or personal statements.  

    Regarding faculty and staff who have self-identified as LGBTQ+, the Law Center does not collect such information through a formal Self-ID option, but these persons have been reported in this survey based on their being “out” in their LGBTQ+ identities within the Law Center community (per questionnaire instructions).  However, because the information has been gathered in this manner, we cannot answer the sub-questions to question #10, as we do not have this level of specificity.

    On Employee Benefits, all employee benefits are managed by the LSU Human Resource Management office.  LSU has a robust offering of benefit plans, including 7 health plans to choose from. LSU also follows all guidelines set forth by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The University treats all legally married couples the same regarding health care and other benefits, regardless of whether the marriage is between persons of different sexes or of the same sex. Domestic partnerships are not recognized by the State of Louisiana, thus no non-marital domestic partnership relationship falls within the eligibility guidelines for University employee benefits.

    Following up on benefits offered to students, law students have access to counseling and therapy services offered to all students of LSU.  All students may access services provided by the Student Health Center, including mental health services and treatment.  The Student Health Center employs licensed professionals and graduate students from the field of clinical psychology, clinical social work, professional counseling, and psychiatry. Additionally, the LSU Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability assists students facing stress, crisis or distress and provides a range of services designed to enhance student well-being, including individual meetings with students, academic support, and referrals to other campus and community resources where applicable.

    Finally, regarding policies and training available to LSU employees and students, all employees of the University, including faculty, staff/administrators, and student workers must adhere to the Violence Free Workplace policy (PS-102), which includes not only assault and battery, but also credible threats, defined as “a statement (verbal or written) or action that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the safety of him/herself or that of another person and does, in fact, cause such fear.”  By this policy, employees also have a responsibility to report knowledge of inappropriate behavior that may fall under this policy.  The University’s Equal Opportunity policy (PS-1) also emphasizes the commitment to provide a workplace free from discrimination and harassment and provides a mechanism for addressing complaints of such.  Employees may file a grievance under the University’s grievance policy (PS-80) to seek solutions for issues arising out of working conditions, including issues of discrimination.  Employees are also bound by the University’s Sexual Harassment policy (PS-73).   Law students in particular are bound by the Law Center’s Code of Student Professional Responsibility, which includes prohibitions against behavior (both physical and verbal) that arises from hate/bias/discrimination based on race, gender, gender identity/expression, religious beliefs, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or age. The policies described above address sexual orientation and gender/expression where discrimination is defined within the policy.  (The grievance policy does not define specific areas of grievance but rather sets forth the mechanism for filing and disposition of grievances.)

    Primary Sidebar

    Survey 2020

    • Union University, Albany Law School
    • Boston University School of Law
    • Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School
    • Brooklyn Law School
    • California Western School of Law
    • Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
    • Capital University Law School
    • Case Western Reserve University School of Law
    • City University of New York School of Law
    • Creighton University School of Law
    • Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law
    • Elon University School of Law
    • Emory University School of Law
    • Florida International University College of Law
    • Fordham University School of Law
    • George Washington University Law School
    • Gonzaga University School of Law
    • Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
    • Lincoln Memorial University, Duncan School of Law
    • Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center
    • Loyola Marymount University, Loyola Law School
    • Michigan State University College of Law
    • Mitchell Hamline School of Law
    • New York University School of Law
    • North Carolina Central University School of Law
    • Northeastern University School of Law
    • Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
    • Penn State Dickinson Law
    • Penn State University, Penn State Law
    • Roger Williams University School of Law
    • Santa Clara University School of Law
    • Seattle University School of Law
    • South Texas College of Law Houston
    • Southern Illinois University School of Law
    • Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
    • Southern University Law Center
    • Southwestern Law School
    • St. John’s University School of Law
    • Stetson University College of Law
    • Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
    • Tulane University Law School
    • University of Akron School of Law
    • University of Alabama School of Law
    • University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law
    • University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law
    • University of California, Berkeley School of Law
    • University of California, Davis School of Law
    • University of California, Irvine School of Law
    • University of Colorado Law School
    • University of Connecticut School of Law
    • University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
    • University of Florida, Levin College of Law
    • University of Georgia School of Law
    • University of Houston Law Center
    • University of Illinois at Chicago, John Marshall Law School
    • University of Kansas School of Law
    • University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law
    • University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
    • University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law
    • University of Miami School of Law
    • University of Minnesota Law School
    • University of Mississippi School of Law
    • University of Nebraska College of Law
    • University of New Mexico School of Law
    • University of Oklahoma College of Law
    • University of Oregon School of Law
    • University of Pennsylvania, Carey Law School
    • University of Pittsburgh School of Law
    • University of Richmond School of Law
    • University of South Carolina School of Law
    • University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
    • University of Tennessee College of Law
    • University of Texas School of Law
    • University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law
    • University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
    • University of Toledo College of Law
    • University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
    • University of Washington School of Law
    • Vanderbilt University School of Law
    • Vermont Law School
    • Washburn University School of Law
    • West Virginia University College of Law
    • Western New England University School of Law
    • Widener University Commonwealth Law School
    • Widener University Delaware Law School
    • William & Mary Law School
    • Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
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