Parents and students in Cincinnati Public Schools must wait to learn if students will receive mandatory suspensions this school year for making derogatory comments about another person's sexual orientation.

        The board of education did not vote Monday on a draft student discipline policy that adds that language.

        “The change needs to be written in such a way that all students are protected from harassment while they do not lose their First Amendment rights,” said board member Harriet Russell.

        More than 30 members of Cincinnati's gay and lesbian community turned out for the board meeting to support the draft policy. A couple of people in the audience spoke out against it.

        Jan Smith, a lesbian and retired Sands Montessori school teacher, told the board she often heard derogatory comments about others' sexual orientation from her first-, second- and third-grade students.

        “When it is written down in black and white that we won't tolerate slurs based on sexual orientation, and when there are consequences for such language, then we can begin re-educating everyone in the schools — and only then that language will stop,” she said.

        As written for students in kindergarten to eighth grade, with slight changes for grades 9-12, the draft policy states: “Students must not use words, statements (written or verbal) or actions that intimidate or express inflicting harm or loss toward students, district staff, visitors, district vehicles or property. This includes any negative comments or statements about a person's race, nationality, religion or sexual orientation.”

        Students who violate the policy face mandatory suspension and possible expulsion.

Lynch walks the walk in Over-the-Rhine
Condemned killer asks for clemency
Byrd appeals death sentence
World's largest garage sale this week
Landlord's money woes affect OTR
'Shaken baby' trial delayed
Hoxworth declares blood emergency
Light rail here a similar story
Police assign another cop to schools
Police nearby as gunshots erupt
Proposal seeks crackdown on Internet harassment
PULFER: E-mail victimizes shark rescuer
Vote delayed on gay slurs in school
Why all this rain? Nature's foibles
Conference to explore services for Hispanics
Congrats
Firefighters graduate after starting over
Florist retires after 55 years
Investors seek softball franchise
City manager likely to stay on job
Local Digest
Meeting to address economic progress
N.Ky. group supports stem-cell policy
Plea deal reached in murder plot
Bunning banked $400,000
Computer lab avails residents
Florence warms to baseball team
Military reunions welcomed in N.Ky.
New chief has local roots
Newport's water sale hits a snag
Northern Ky. Daybook
5 on short list for EKU president
Computer tracks rare species easier
Kentucky Digest
'Massacre Mountain' road returned to history, nature