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Climate Survey 2020

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

Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

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?

Cardozo open house events include programming tailored to students of color and LGBTQ+ students, but open to all. Guests have the opportunity to: explore our academic programs, learn about the admissions process, and meet our faculty and staff. Guests also have ample opportunities to learn about the student experience from members of OUTlaw, Cardozo’s LGBTQ+ student organization, and the Minority Law Students Alliance (“MLSA”).

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:

Cardozo allows applicants to submit an optional essay regarding personal characteristics or any other factors (economic, social, physical, educational, or cultural) that they would like the Admissions Committee to consider as part of its review.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
Answer left blank
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
Answer left blank
Lesbian
Answer left blank
Gay
Answer left blank
Bisexual/ pansexual
Answer left blank
Transgender / nonbinary
Answer left blank
Queer or gender/sexual orientation minority
Answer left blank
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?
Yes
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:

Yeshiva University, in its efforts to maintain a diverse workforce, will advertise its open positions with state workforce agencies as well as a number of local and national organizations that support veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, minorities and individuals from other protected groups. Our open positions are shared with several organizations that specifically work to support LGBTQ+ communities. We are also a member of a higher education recruitment consortium that does outreach to individuals from these communities.

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?
Approx. 62
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
Two out LGBTQ+ faculty members.
Lesbian
1
Gay
1
Bisexual/Pansexual
Zero
Transgender /Nonbinary
Zero
Queer or gender/sexual orientation minority
Zero
11. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty of color does your law school currently employ in total?
1
12. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school?
Approx. 83
13. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
Four out LGBTQ+ staff/administrators.
Lesbian
2
Gay
1
Bisexual/Pansexual
Zero
Transgender/Nonbinary
Zero
Queer or gender / sexual orientation minority
1
14. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators of color does your law school currently employ in total?
1
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.)?
Yes
c. If you answered 'yes' to #15a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #15b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva University recognize same-sex marriages and provide health insurance and related benefits to the same-sex spouses of faculty and administrators.

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?
Yes
a. If 'yes' or ‘unsure,’ please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Yes, per the employee health insurance policy for a given year.

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?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' are those student benefits available on equal terms to students in same-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships as they are to students in different-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships?
Yes
b. If you answered 'yes' to #17, are those student benefit plans inclusive of the specific needs of LGBTQ+ students (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 students of all genders, etc.)?
Yes
c. If you answered 'yes' to #17a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #17b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here

Covered services are offered to both students and their spouses/partners.

18. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses who are transgender or undergoing gender transition?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Yes, per the student health insurance policy for a given academic year.

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.):

All students have the option to seek professional counseling services at the University Counseling Center. Yeshiva’s Counseling Center offers short-term individual counseling, psychiatric assessment and short-term medication managements, referral services, crisis intervention and emergency services.

The Counseling Center is here to consult with you on a confidential basis, free of charge. Our staff of qualified and caring professionals provide a calm and objective listening ear, and can help you address any issues or concerns.

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 law school has multiple single-stall gender-inclusive bathrooms throughout the building. The bathrooms are labeled “Gender Neutral”. The locations for these bathrooms and accessibility are published in the student handbook.

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.)?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please list course names:

Sexual Orientation, Gender, and Law
Credits: 2 Pre/Corequisite: None

This course looks at legal issues relating to sexual orientation and gender, especially questions relating to lesbian, gay, and bisexual rights; women’s rights; and the rights of transgender people. The course looks at both constitutional and statutory issues, with particular attention to issues relating to speech, families, reproduction, and discrimination.

b. If you answered 'no, but LGBTQ+ content is included in other courses' to #22, please list course names AND approximately how many hours of course time is dedicated to LGBTQ+ content for each course:

Constitutional Law II
Credits: 3 Pre/Corequisite: None

Employment Discrimination I: Title 7 and the ADEA
Credits: 3 Pre/Corequisite: None

Family Law
Credits: 3 Pre/Corequisite: None

Federal Civil Rights Law
Credits: 3 Pre/Corequisite: None. Prior coursework in Constitutional Law or Federal Courts is recommended, but not required.

International Human Rights
Credits: 3 Pre/Corequisite: None

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:

OUTlaw is Cardozo’s pioneer student group for LGBTQ+ students and their allies. OUTlaw organizes meetings, educational panels, and social activities to advance LGBTQ+ rights and issues. One of the group’s prominent events is an annual reception in which the E. Nathaniel Gates Award, established in honor of a beloved Cardozo professor, is presented to notable Cardozo LGBT alumni. The administration co-sponsors events with OUTlaw through the Office of Diversity & Inclusion.

The Office of Career Services (“OCS”) welcomes partnerships and co-sponsorship with student groups on programming. OCS will provide funding for programs, events, and conferences that have a career-oriented subject.

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?
Yes
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.
Yes, optional for all faculty/staff/administrators
Yes, mandatory for all students
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:

OUTlaw Alumni was created to support diversity and foster community in LGBTQ+ alumni from Cardozo with the goal of promoting social events, networking opportunities, career help, and more. The OUTlaw Alumni group works closely to support and mentor Cardozo OUTlaw students often co-sponsoring events and bridging the gap between alumni and students. As part of the student’s Gates Event, OUTlaw Alumni help to fundraise towards the LGBT Fund’s Paris Baldacci Scholarship for Outstanding Student Work in LGBT Rights.

Cardozo’s Office of Career Services (“OCS”) provides a dedicated OCS Coordinator of Diversity Initiatives who works in conjunction with Cardozo’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion to develop resources and programming, in addition to providing advice to students and alumni regarding placement. OCS also provides resources targeting students and alumni of diverse backgrounds, including the OCS Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Guide and provides information about, and access to, a broad range of initiatives, including career fairs, fellowships, internships, and scholarships.