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  • Climate Survey 2021

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

    Penn State University, Penn State Law

    March 15, 2021

    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?

    As discussed below, we invite students to self-identify as LGBTQ+ and direct specific outreach to those applicants with more information about being an LGBTQ+ student at Penn State Law.

    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 form includes two questions, both optional to answer: 1. Do you consider yourself to me a member of the LGBTQA community? This question is optional and will be used only by the admissions committee to gain a better understanding of the whole person whose application is being reviewed. (A yes/no choice is provided) 2. Please feel free to share any additional information about your response to the above question and/or a brief description of your gender identity. This question is optional and will be used by the admissions committee to gain a better understanding of the whole person whose application is being reviewed.

    b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
    413
    c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
    N/A
    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?
    No
    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 follow Penn State’s nondiscrimination policy as described above and seek to create a diverse community, and if a candidate self-identifies as LGBTQ+, connect them with various resources and sources of information about what it’s like to live in State College and work at Penn State as an LGBTQ+ person.

    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?
    71
    10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
    N/A
    11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
    53
    12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
    N/A
    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.)?
    Yes
    c. If you answered 'yes' to #13a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #13b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

    Our policy regarding dependents explicitly lists same-sex spouses.

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

    A description of the health benefits for trans and nonbinary employees can be found here.

    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?
    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 #15, 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.)?
    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

    Student parents have access to childcare facilities with a subsidy, as outlined here: https://hr.psu.edu/child-care-subsidy. Student health insurance plans generally do not include assisted reproduction or adoption services. Other services such as mammograms, prostate exams, etc. are available to students of all genders.

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

    Information can be found here.

    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?
    Yes
    b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #17a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

    The counseling center has an explicit statement of its commitment to diversity, which I have seen borne out through outreach and targeted services for the LGBTQ+ community.

    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

    We have two all-gender restrooms (labeled as such) on the ground floor of the Katz Building, both accessible for people with disabilities.

    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?
    Yes
    a. If "yes," please provide the language of your school's restroom use policy and details on where this policy may be found by the law school community:

    We follow Penn State’s policy: “In keeping with the University’s policy of nondiscrimination and the commitment to inclusion, the University allows students, staff, faculty, and visitors to use the restroom or facility that corresponds to their gender identity.”

    20. 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:

    We have a course on Sexuality and the Law offered every other fall that is entirely dedicated to LGBTQ+ content. The class is intentionally set as a course in a large classroom so that enrollment is not capped.

    21. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group that is supported by the administration?
    Yes
    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:

    We regularly send interested students to the Lavender Law conference, our Career Services office runs several diversity-related information sessions that include LGBTQ-specific scholarships, and both Outlaw and the office of the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion sponsor events such as lectures, panels, etc. on LGBTQ+ focused learning.

    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, optional for all faculty/staff/administrators
    26. 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:

    Penn State runs a training program called “Safer People Safer Places” for faculty and staff about how to be an effective ally to members of the LGBTQ+ community. Upon completion of one of the workshops, participants are offered a sticker (design visible here) that they are encouraged to display somewhere like their office door to signal to students that they will be a supportive ally. Second, in recent semesters our Career Services office has sent out an email to the entire school before a first visit from military recruiters noting that the current ban of transgender servicemembers does not follow our nondiscrimination policy and reiterating our support for trans members of our community, including trans veterans. Third, the Dean and administrators meet informally with LGBTQ+ students and groups to listen to concerns and constructively identify solution to make the law school a place where everyone feels included.

    Primary Sidebar

    Survey 2021

    • Albany Law School
    • Appalachian School of Law
    • 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
    • Charleston School of Law
    • City University of New York School of Law
    • Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
    • Cornell Law School
    • Creighton University School of Law
    • Drake University Law School
    • Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law
    • Duquesne University School of Law
    • Elon University School of Law
    • Emory University School of Law
    • Florida A&M University College of Law
    • Florida International University College of Law
    • Fordham University School of Law
    • George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School
    • George Washington University Law School
    • Golden Gate University School of Law
    • Gonzaga University School of Law
    • Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
    • Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
    • Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
    • Lincoln Memorial University, Duncan School of Law
    • Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center
    • 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
    • Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law
    • Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
    • Penn State University, Penn State Law
    • Roger Williams University School of Law
    • Rutgers Law School
    • Saint Louis 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
    • St. Mary’s University School of Law
    • Stetson University College of Law
    • Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
    • Texas A&M University School of Law
    • 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 Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville)
    • University of California, Berkeley School of Law
    • University of California, Davis School of Law
    • University of California, Irvine School of Law
    • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
    • University of Cincinnati College of Law
    • University of Colorado Law School
    • University of Connecticut School of Law
    • University of Denver, Sturm College 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 Chicago School of Law
    • 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 Maine School of Law
    • University of Miami School of Law
    • University of Michigan Law School
    • University of Minnesota Law School
    • University of Mississippi School of Law
    • University of Montana School of Law
    • University of Nevada, William S. Boyd School of Law
    • University of New Hampshire School 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 San Francisco School of Law
    • University of South Carolina School of Law
    • University of South Dakota, Knudson 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 Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
    • University of Virginia School of Law
    • University of Washington School of Law
    • University of Wyoming College of Law
    • Vanderbilt University School of Law
    • Vermont Law School
    • Washburn University School of Law
    • Washington and Lee 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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