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Climate Survey 2022

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

Vermont Law School

March 23, 2022

Question 1 provided each school with a field to confirm or update their nondiscrimination statement.
 
b. Does your law school (or larger University, if those policies are binding upon the law school) have a "code of conduct" which prohibits same-sex relationships (including but not limited to physical/sexual activity, marriage or registered domestic partner status, etc.) for employees or students?
No
2. Does your law school intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ prospective students?
Yes
a. If ‘yes,’ how and where are your efforts directed?

Attending law fairs and events. When we do career fairs at colleges and universities, we make special effort to connect with LGBTQ students and student groups.

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?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please describe your student Self-ID process:

Our application allows students to identify themselves as genderqueer/gender non-conforming, trans female/trans woman, trans male/trans man. We also have an open text field where applicants can express their gender identity in a way not listed.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
650
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
80
d. If 'yes,' how many of your currently enrolled LGBTQ+ students also self-identify as people of color?
Unknown
Lesbian?
Unknown
Gay?
Unknown
Bisexual/ Pansexual?
Unknown
Transgender / Nonbinary?
Unknown
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
Unknown

Our application does not allow for applicant responses to be mapped from the application to our system, so we cannot report on 4e-4h. The Admissions Office is planning to adjust this for the next application cycle, which would allow us to track this information.

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

Our Admissions system allows students to list preferred pronoun and preferred name.

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:

We attend conferences including the National LGBTQ+ where we seek out interested parties who want to teach at a law school.

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?:
Yes
a. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure,' please describe your school's process for collecting this data

Data is collected from anyone who self-identifies.

9. How many faculty (not staff/administrators) are employed by your law school in total?
Approximately 100 (including on-line and adjunct faculty).
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
4
a. With reference to #10, how many LGBTQ+ faculty self-identify as people of color?
1
Lesbian?
2
Gay?
2
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
65
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
4
a. With reference to #12, how many LGBTQ+ staff/administrators self-identify as people of color?
1
Lesbian?
2
Gay?
1
13. 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 #13, 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 #13a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #13b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Vermont Law School’s parental leave polices do not specify gender and they follow VT-PFMLA and FMLA laws.

14. Does your law school offer transition-related health benefits including hormone therapy, gender counseling, gender-affirming surgeries, etc. to transgender/nonbinary employees and employees who are undergoing gender transition?
No

Our insurance, Cigna, does not currently have these policies in place.

15. 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

Vermont Law School does not offer health care insurance to our students.

16. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses who are transgender/nonbinary or undergoing gender transition?
No

Vermont Law School does not offer health care insurance to our students.

17. 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 nonbinary patients?
No
b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #17a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

Vermont Law School does not employ a health care provider. We employ a full-time mental health clinician who provides counseling services to our students. Our clinician is a licensed mental health provider and has experience working with LGBTQ+ students.

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

Signage on doors indicates gender neutrality.

19. If your law school is maintaining gender-segregated (i.e., "Women's Restroom" and "Men's Restroom") restroom stalls, does it have a policy applicable to those facilities which ensures that transgender/nonbinary students/staff/administrators/faculty, as well as anyone who does not meet gender stereotypes, have access to facilities that match their gender identity?
No
b. Do all of the gender-segregated restrooms in your law school buildings have signage specifically indicating that people may use the restroom which best reflects their gender?
Yes
20. Does your law school have one or more annual LGBTQ+ specific course offerings (e.g., LGBTQ+ Law and Policy, Sexual Orientation Law, Gender Identity Law, etc.)?
Yes, we offer such a course, but only every other year (please specify in 20a below)
a. If 'yes,' please list course names:

Sexual Orientation and the Law, and Women and the Law.

21. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group?
Yes
a. If you answered "yes," does that group receive annual funding from the law school administration?
Yes

Alliance receives funding from the Office of Student Affairs for the annual Lavender Law Conference. They also receive funding from the Student Bar Association for annual Gayla and other campus-wide events.

22. 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:

Alliance receives funding annually from the Office of Student Affairs and Diversity to attend the Lavender Law Conference.

23. 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 #23, does that process specifically identify sexual orientation AND/OR gender identity/expression as protected categories?
Yes, both
b. If yes to #23, does the policy set out a clear hate bias/incident reporting process for faculty, staff/administrators, and students to utilize if necessary?
Yes
24. 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?
Yes
25. 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.
Yes, mandatory for all faculty/staff/administrators
Yes, mandatory for all students
26. Does your school enable and encourage the sharing of personal pronouns (e.g., She/Her, He/Him, They/Them) and honorifics (e.g., Ms., Mx., Mr.) in public communications (email signature blocks, Zoom profiles, nametags, event registration forms, etc.)?
Yes
a. Does your law school capture students' personal pronouns and honorifics as part of the registration process?
We capture this data elsewhere
b. If your law school captures students' personal pronouns and honorifics, is that information consistently shared with professors on class rosters with an expectation that it will be used in the classroom?
No

Pronouns are captured at the admissions stage. However, our current registration software does not have the flexibility to allow for the addition of pronoun capturing. Research is being done regarding updates and/or other ways to capture and disseminate this information.

27. 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:

Vermont Law School ensures that all conferences, symposiums, etc., includes components that address LGBTQ students as well as other diverse students.

Many of the LGBTQ students attend the Diversity Committee which focuses on making sure that all diverse candidates are welcome and treated fairly.

All student groups are open to all students and they have a non-discrimination policy they must follow.

Many of our LGBTQ students are student leaders on campus, participating in moot court, law review, journals, etc.

Each year our LGBTQ student group, Alliance, hosts an annual Gayla and drag show where the VLS community (including faculty, staff, students, administrators and deans) participate. It’s always one of the largest attended and most popular events of the year.

Vermont Law School has a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan with seven goals. Four of those goals are to increase LGBTQ admin, faculty, and staff, to increase and incorporate the topics of LGBTQ in the curriculum and in the classroom. the plan has steps to be taken in order to reach these goals and is updated each year.