MENU

  • Lavender Law

    Annual Conference


  • Membership

    Join Us!


  • DEI

    Consulting Practice


  • Education

    Series

Climate Survey 2021

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

University of Maine School of Law

March 23, 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?

Through targeted emails.

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?
No
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:

But it is limited to an optional diversity statement. I will expand that for the next cycle for more specific self-id.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
254
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
6
d. If 'yes,' how many of your currently enrolled LGBTQ+ students also self-identify as people of color?
1
Lesbian?
1
Gay?
5
Bisexual/ Pansexual?
Unknown
Transgender / Nonbinary?
Unknown
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
Unknown
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

We have the ability to change their name-in-use in post-enrollment forms.

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 identify all the diverse candidates in the applicant pool and consider diversity as a factor in our hiring.

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?
19
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
Bisexual/Pansexual?
Unknown
Transgender / Nonbinary?
Unknown
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
Unknown
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
23
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
Unknown
a. With reference to #12, how many LGBTQ+ staff/administrators self-identify as people of color?
Zero

We do not collect this data.

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:

https://www.maine.edu/human-resources/benefits/

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:

https://www.maine.edu/human-resources/benefits/

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 Health Plan

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

Our student health insurance is only available to individual students. It is not offered to dependents or partners/spouses.

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.):

All the counseling staff participate in yearly diversity training related to working with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC ( black, indigenous and people of color) students. The staff are engaged in case presentations on a regular basis where there are opportunities to address the treatment of students with LGBTQ+ issues and receive feedback on their cases. The counseling staff work closely with our local gender clinic on cases where students are transitioning and may need letters and clinical support.

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 signage outside of the restrooms indicated – Gender Neutral and the restrooms are located in our busiest areas. They are accessible for people with disabilities. We do not have an online building map for our Law School building, but there is visible signage for All Gender bathrooms and online presence for our greater university campus, which is utilized by our students.

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:

Bathroom Affirmation Policy
The University of Maine System does not discriminate based on sex or sexual orientation, which includes gender identity and expression. All students, employees, and campus visitors are welcome to use the restrooms that best fit their gender.

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:

Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and the Law: Constitutional law in the U.S. (based on both the federal and state constitutions) has played active roles in framing issues related to race, gender, and sexual orientation and legal equality in the last sixty years. The course will examine cultural ideas and constitutional theories that relate to civil rights litigation of various types related to these categories. The course will also analyze critiques of those ideas and theories, and consider alternative viewpoints. (This course is offered every other year basis.)

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

We have an active organization that has been at the Law School for more than 20 years. The LGBT Law & Policy Group serves as an educational, political and social group for the LGBT community at the University of Maine School of Law and is dedicated to the inclusion of all people who are interested in furthering the goals of the LGBT community. We are committed to sponsoring an array of events that increase awareness of both the issues that impact LGBT people and the unique legal concerns of the LGBT community.

22. Does your law school provide funding, including travel support, for LGBTQ+ students to participate in LGBTQ+-focused learning and/or career services opportunities?
No
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

NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY AND BIAS REPORTING
As part of the University of Maine System, Maine Law is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Amie Parker, Interim Director of Equal Opportunity, The Farmhouse, University of Maine Augusta, Augusta, ME 04333, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System). Incidents of discrimination or bias at Maine Law should be reported to Sherry Abbott Niang, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, at 207-780-4345 or sherry.niang@maine.edu.

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.
No
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:

We are currently in the process of defining a more robust reporting system and training on that system for the incoming class.