By DAAREL BURNETTE II, Star Tribune
The Minnesota School Board Association is advising school districts across the state to expand their harassment and violence policy to specify several more groups, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students.
The association also is pushing for boards to put more pressure on school officials to intervene when they witness bullying. "We wanted to make it clear that safety is important for all students no matter sex, race, creed or sexual orientation," said Greg Abbott, School Board Association spokesman. The recommendation will likely be controversial as its 335-member districts decide whether to act on the association's recommendation.
"Our concern with the proposed revision is that it only targets certain types of bullying and not all forms of bullying," said Tom Prichard, the president of Minnesota Family Council. "Singling out sexual orientation often leads to use of curriculum which promote homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage. Such efforts don't address the problem of bullying, which we all agree must be stopped."
The association's updated harassment policy prohibits any form of harassment or violence "on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, familial status, and status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation or disability." The association also is now recommending that districts take "disciplinary action" if school officials don't report bullying.
In September, Anoka-Hennepin School District came under national fire after it updated its bullying policy to include GLBT students with a clause that told teachers to stay neutral on the issue of homosexuality.
"People are itching for a fight on this one because it's so high profile right now," said Jim Roth, who specializes in education law at St. Mary's University and Hamline University.
The School Board Association's Abbott said the proposed wording isn't new, it's from Minnesota's historic human rights legislation passed in 1993. That law made Minnesota the first state to ban employment discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Since then, politicians have worked to expand that language to include other groups through multiple bills that have largely failed in Congress. (Federal and state statutes override school district policies.)
Although there has not been a lawsuit, advocacy groups and politicians have been grappling in recent months with the question of what role, if any, schools play in preventing bullying.
A written policy might clarify issues for teachers who aren't sure what their role is, Roth said.
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This is great! So many people are prosecuted because of their sexuality. Some people just don't tolerate it because it scares them or they just don't beleive in homosexuality. They have every single right to be happy as we do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lydsy. I mean sure its not something people in Warroad see very often but they have every right to be accepted. It is sad and immature to pick on someone just because they like people of the same gender. And it would be a great idea if schools came up with a policy that punishes those who pick on people who are homosexual, or have homosexual relatives or friends.
ReplyDeleteI think that the students should go by the militarys rule, dont tell or dont show it. Its kind of a distraction, because most people like the oppisite sex. it just draws attention to themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think that the bulling policy they are thinking of is somewhat good and somewhat bad. I think it is good because the people who have same sex attraction are normal people just like us. I think that people who are gay normally get bullied more than most other people just because they are a little different. I am one of those people who hate when kids are mean to another. I just think that is horrible and mean for people to do that when they wouldn't like to be the one's bullied. When kids get bullied for something and other kids have the same interest as the kid getting bullied. They will just hide themselves from the real world and scared to let anyone know who they really are, because they are scared they will get bullied to. I don't agree with the part that the teacher should step in every time the see someone being bullied. They should only step out if the kid is constantly being bullied and they seem bothered by it or offended by it day after day. They should step in, in these cases because some students don't tell people when they get bullied and one day they will just go home and commit sucicide. I think that they should stay out of it if they students are just joking or if they don't seem bothered by it and it isn't an everyday thing or if it is they are joking about it. Those are my thoughts on the bullying topic!
ReplyDeleteI that it is a good thing that the school to do that, just because they like the same race as them, doesn't give the right for other people to pick on them. I think that the schools are doing the rite thing. I'm sure that we don't have anything like that happen up hear, but it might happen in the future so i think that all schools should do that. I also agree with Josh on the whole don't ask don't tell policy, I mean if anybody ask than you could, but other wise i think that it is confidential and should be the person who is gay who has the choice to come out and say it or not.
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