We, the undersigned residents of Cobb County, would like to petition Superindendent Sanderson and members of the Cobb County School Board to include enumerated categories in the district's anti-bullying policy.

In a recent survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, nearly 90\% of students reported hearing homophobic or transphobic remarks at school on a regular basis. Even more surprising, 85\% of students said that teachers respond to such remarks some of the time or never. Clearly, something has to change and it needs to start by changing the county's anti-bullying policy.

Research has found that students at schools with an enumerated anti-bullying policy, one that includes categories for sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, report incidents of harassment at a significantly lower rate. Such students are also more likely to notify a faculty member when an incident of bullying or harassment occurs.

We believe that every Cobb County school should be a place where ALL students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression feel safe, accepted and supported at school. By signing this petition, we ask that you please consider the inclusion of ennumerated categories in the district's anti-bullying policy.