Teachers Panel Drops Measure on Gay Safety

Teachers holding their annual convention in Los Angeles withdrew from consideration a resolution designed to make schools safer for and more hospitable toward gay and lesbian students. The proposal drew protests Tuesday from conservative Christian groups.

The resolution panel of the National Education Assn., meeting in Los Angeles, instead called for establishment of a task force to look at issues relating to sexual orientation “in a thorough and meaningful way.”

Bob Chase, the group’s president, said the action does not indicate that the influential teachers union was “backing away from these issues.” Rather, he said, a task force would expand the scope of the inquiry.