Recent creation of a LGBTQ+ brochure as part of our myriad of materials to prospective applicants who are considering Stetson Law for their legal education. This brochure was designed as part of our welcoming message to the LGBTQ+ population of applicants to consider law school in a welcoming law school culture and being part of a larger welcoming community in Tampa/St. Petersburg. According to many LGBTQ+ prospective students, “the brochure is on display outside the Office of Admissions and Student Financial Planning and has been cited by students as one of the determinative factors that led them to choose Stetson for their legal education.”
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – Municipal Equality Index (MEI) examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there (or study). In 2018, St. Petersburg, Florida scored 100 on the MEI, the same score of 100 in several years up to now, beginning with 2014.
A message from St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, a Stetson Law alum, recognizing the HRC MEI distinction:
City of St. Petersburg Receives Perfect Score on Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – For the fifth year in a row, the City of St. Petersburg has scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) – the only nationwide assessment of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy and services.
St. Pete was one of five cities in Florida to receive a perfect score, out of the 18 Florida cities and 506 total municipalities ranked.
Said Mayor Rick Kriseman: “We are incredibly proud to have received a perfect score for the fifth year in a row. It is a reflection of our values and policy advancements and serves as a vital message point for us when recruiting people and businesses to our city. We recognize that building an inclusive city never ends. There’s always work to do. We are committed to this work and ensuring that LGBTQ residents and visitors forever view St. Pete as a beacon of progress. Thank you to HRC for this program and accountability, to my city team, and to our residents for making sure the sun shines on everyone in St. Pete, regardless of who you love.”
“For the fifth consecutive year, our city demonstrates its continuing commitment to equality for the LGBTQ community and for all that live in our great city,” Said Jim Nixon, City of St. Petersburg’s LGBTQ Liaison. “With the passage this year of our citywide anti-bullying policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and gender expression in all youth facing services and the resolution to include LGBTQ businesses in the city’s Small Business Enterprise, we have committed to the work that keeps our city on the path to equality.”
The Stetson Law application process has a gender question, which is optional, for applicants to either not respond or select male/female, trans male/trans female, or a different identity. We recently updated our application “self ID” process to have expanded information for future survey data.
Stetson Law offers an annual Pride Scholarship awarded each year to a graduating student who has contributed greatly to both the Stetson Law LGBTQ+ community and the community-at-large.
Stetson University is an Equal Opportunity Employer that affirms cultural diversity and inclusion as a core value of academic excellence. We are committed to achieving equal access in education, employment, and participation through the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds, and to meaningful academic and intellectual transformation in curriculum, research and service. We are dedicated to actions and policies that foster a community in which individuals with various identities, cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints work together to create opportunities for engagement through rewarding and fulfilling careers and personal experiences in a culturally and racially diverse society and a globalized world.
Part of the foundation and growth attracting and enrolling LGBTQ+ students have been the determined and concentrated efforts of our LGBTQ+ faculty who have helped advance, mentor and support the efforts on campus, as well as local, statewide and nationally. Our faculty efforts have driven our exposure and continue to help advance our students and their contributions.
Stetson Law is home to faculty members who serve as officers of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues.
• Professor of Law – Joseph Morrissey – Professor Morrissey has worked for years with Equality Florida, Florida’s leading LGBTQ+ Advocacy organization. With Professor Morrissey’s oversight over the years, Stetson Law students provided hundreds of hours of pro bono legal services to Equality Florida, including research on marriage equality leading up to the US Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, and drafting of the Equality Handbook for Florida residents. Professor Morrissey and Stetson Law students have also provided support for Equality Florida’s fund-raising efforts.
On a more personal level, Professor Morrissey brought a federal lawsuit against the IRS for denying him and his husband deductions for medical expenses related to surrogacy and in vitro fertilization, where the IRS had allowed those deductions for opposite sex couples. The suit alleged, among other things, discrimination against them as gay people under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. The suit proceeded over a period of years, resulting in a loss at the 11th Circuit, but the fight was highlighted in the media and was an inspiration for other gay couples seeking to form families through surrogacy. Unfortunately, gay rights advocates recommended that the suit not proceed to the Supreme Court based on the current composition of that court and the likelihood that the Court might use the case to actually set back gay rights.
• Professor of Law – Ellen S. Podgor – Editor of the popular White-Collar Crime Prof Blog and past-president of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Professor Podgor has published an article on sexual orientation and ethics standards and was a past-chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues.
Professor Podgor, along with Professor Barbara Cox (Professor-Emeritus California Western School of Law), presented to the Executive Committee of the AALS, a proposed change to the Bylaws, (Section 6-3 – Diversity: Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Membership Requirements), the insertion of a prohibition of discrimination based on gender identity. Following their presentation, the AALS executive committee added to Section 6-3 following gender “including identity and expression.”
Professor Podgor, when she served as the President of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS), held a dinner for all LGBT law professors attending the conference. Professor Podgor also authored the article, Recognizing Inclusiveness, 86 UMKC L. Rev. 577 (2018), an article that talks about inclusivity at SEALS.
• Professor of Law – Jason Palmer – Past Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues. Professor Palmer teaches Stetson’s Law and Sexual Orientation Seminar and has presented nationally on research about LGBTQ+ elder law issues and marriage equality issues.
• Professors Podgor, Morrissey and Palmer serve as co-advisors for the Lambda Legal Society.
Cigna’s Coverage Position White Paper regarding Gender Dysphoria coverage. Benefits follow normal claim handling based on the type of provider, the services being rendered and the place of service. Effectively, transition is handled the same as any other condition. Therefore, you will not see ‘transition’ featured separately in the benefit summaries or in the SPDs.
Health plan coverage: Your health plan provides coverage for medically necessary treatment, which may include:
› Gender-affirming surgery2
› Hormone therapy
› Required lab testing
› Behavioral counseling
› Routine medical care
Cigna Medical Coverage Policy 0266, “Treatment of Gender Dysphoria.”
Education: We provide several public access online resources to help educate you, your family and your friends:
› LGBTQ health and disparities
› Current issues in transgender care
› Gender identity and transgender concerns
› Ways to talk with family members
See response to 13c
Our Mental Health Counseling Services supports the mission and values of Stetson University and that of the Office of Student Affairs by providing proactive, responsive and effective counseling services for our students. Our on-campus counselors promotes the holistic wellness, self-exploration and personal growth of our students through confidential counseling, outreach and programming, consultation, crisis response, and connection with campus and community partners. Our Mental Health counselor is committed to providing ethical, competent and current services consistent with national best practices in professional counseling. Our services continually meet the changing needs of our growing and diversifying student population while helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and help-seeking behavior. We are proud to provide professional counseling services, at no cost, to our College of Law students.
Gender-inclusive restrooms are available in several locations and levels on campus. The gender-inclusive restrooms have prominent signage outside each restroom door that clearly notates an “All Gender Restroom – anyone can use this restroom regardless of gender identity or expression.”
Gender-inclusive restrooms are available in several locations and levels on campus. The gender-inclusive restrooms have prominent signage outside each restroom door that clearly notates an “All Gender Restroom – anyone can use this restroom regardless of gender identity or expression.”
Law and Sexual Orientation; Constitutional Law and the Civil Rights Movement; Feminist Jurisprudence; Family Law; International Law of Human Rights; Adoption Law; Reproductive Technology and the Law; Employment Discrimination.
Juris Doctor students may also pursue a Certificate of Concentration in Social Justice Advocacy. The program requires students to complete specialized coursework in civil or criminal social justice issues and focus their pro bono service, experiential learning, and advanced writing activities to serve the cause of social justice.
One of the pioneers in the field of lesbian jurisprudence, Ruthann Robson ’79, is a member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame and former visiting professor at Stetson.
• Stetson Law’s Lambda Legal Society provides a forum to explore the legal issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The organization welcomes students of any sexual orientation interested in raising awareness of the issues attorneys face with the increasing number of gay and lesbian clients who seek legal protection. Lambda works with Stetson to provide a safe, supportive environment for LGBTQ+ students and allies.
• The group is also invested in exploring intersectionalities and has strong ties to other student organizations on campus with whom they co-host events to broaden the impacts of education, inclusion, and support.
• LAMBDA at Stetson Law prides itself in creating inclusive ongoing programming, including awareness, activism opportunities for education promotion
All students while attending Stetson Law are eligible for the Professional Development Travel Fund of up to $500.00 per event, and up to a maximum of $1000.00/student during their enrolled period in law school, to attend professional development opportunities. LGBTQ+ students have attended Lavender Law, which is an annual national conference and job fair for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Stetson students have worked on service projects for Equality Florida, ACLU and the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas County, and others have interned at LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations including LAMBDA Legal Society.
Stetson students helped successfully advocate for the City of Gulfport, home of the law school, to pass a human rights ordinance protecting citizens from being denied services based on sexuality. Gulfport was the first city in Pinellas County, Florida to create a domestic partnership registry to extend legal rights related to health care and dependent education to domestic partners. LGBTQ+ students are involved in every facet of student life, including the Student Bar Association, Stetson Law Review, our award-winning advocacy boards, and a number of other organizations. Stetson students have worked on service projects for Equality Florida and the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas, and others have interned at LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations.
The Code of Student Professionalism and Conduct states that students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that supports the College of Law’s educational mission. This includes acting in a professional, dignified, and respectful manner. Additional categories of misconduct that could result in disciplinary action against a student include violating the College of Law’s sexual harassment policy, or harassing or discriminating against members of the College of Law community, or others associated with the College of Law, based on a person’s race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender, sexual orientation, marital or parental status.
The College of Law enacted a Student Concern and Complaint Policy – this administrative policy provides a process by which students may make suggestions or raise concerns or complaints in a constructive manner. The process should be viewed as potentially positive for all parties and should, as far as possible, be managed to achieve a positive outcome.
With Stetson’s commitment to social justice as a core value, including a concentration option in Social Justice Advocacy, students who “share a unique passion for equality in society and a drive to stand up for those who need advocacy the most” can focus in this area. As part of our admitted student engagement through an admitted student portal, Organizational Leadership from LAMBDA Legal Society (LGBTQ+ student organization, BLSA (Black Law Student Association), HBA (Hispanic Bar Association), AALSA (Asian-American Law Student Association, FAWLS Florida Association of Women Lawyers) and others, all post welcome and organization overviews to admitted students highlighting partnerships and intersectionality opportunities. Student Organization leaders are encouraged and participate in discussion boards with admitted students. In addition, admitted student portals promote diversity organizations and accolades through links and videos highlighting Stetson Law’s efforts embracing diversity and inclusion. The updates include events occurring over the summer prior to enrollment, including the St. Petersburg Pride Parade. Additionally, students who self-identify in their applications are also matched up and connected with members of the LAMBDA Legal Society and LGBTQ+ members of the faculty.