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Climate Survey 2021

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

University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke 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?

Our outreach to LGBTQIA+ prospective students includes direct and indirect methods. We attend several law school fairs each year where LGBTQIA+ prospects are in attendance. We affirmatively identify ourselves as a school who welcomes and supports members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our Admission and Financial Aid offices as a unit attend professional development seminars and workshops that help to expand our knowledge base and identify appropriate resources to accommodate prospective students who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community.

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

We provide a statement in the Admitted Student & Welcome packet that provides information about our resources and school culture.

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:

For the 2021 application cycle, we have two questions on our admission application that allow applicants to (1) identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or (2) identify as an ally of the community. We are committed to providing an opportunity for students to self-identify.

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?:
We do not yet have three years of data for our current Self-ID process.
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?
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:

The law school disseminates its job postings widely across national and local listservs and job sites, including the AALS and CLEA websites, AALS Minority Listserv, AALS Clinical Listserv, Langston/Ludie Writers Workshop Listservs, National Association for Law Placement’s Job Center, the Chronicle of Higher Education’s ChronicleVitae, Indeed, LinkedIn, the DC Consortium of Legal Services Providers, and its diverse group of alumni.

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?
29
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
We do not collect this information.
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
30
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
We do not collect this information.
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:

UDC Law employees participate in the DC Employees Health Benefits Program which, by law, allows for coverage of domestic partners and the dependent children of domestic partners. The DC Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment based on sex, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation.

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

Employees may choose from among several health insurance plans. https://www.udc.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.)?
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

The University’s student health plan does not cover infertility treatments but does cover preventative care and gender confirmation procedures and/or treatments. https://www.uhcsr.com/udc and https://www.udc.edu/health-services/helpful-resources/.

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:

https://www.udc.edu/health-services/helpful-resources/

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

The law school cannot attest to the training received by all of the University’s on-campus health care providers, but University Health Services makes a point of noting it “is committed to providing caring, quality, confidential services to the university community, inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” https://www.udc.edu/health-services/. It also provides resources specifically for LGBTQ+ students. https://www.udc.edu/health-services/helpful-resources/

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

The law school building has five single-stall restrooms (two on the 1st floor, one on the 3rd floor, and two on the law library level), all of which are accessible for people with disabilities, labeled as Family Restrooms.

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:

All individuals may use facilities such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms that correspond with their gender identity; in other words, individuals may use the restroom designated for the gender they identify with. http://docs.udc.edu/president/All-Gender-Restrooms-2-12-2020.pdf. See also D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 4. § 802 (2006).

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:

Gender & Sexual Orientation Under the Law Seminar

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:

The law school’s LGBTQ+ student organization, OutLaw, has used its funding for student networking and career services activities, including participation in Lavender Law.

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.
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:

The University’s Center for Diversity, Inclusion & Multicultural Affairs provides programming, resources, and a welcoming and affirming environment for historically marginalized populations, specifically including LGBTQ+ and non-binary identifying students.