You know you’ve messed up completely when the father of the child you’ve named your legislation after publicly denounces it.
The legislation, called “Matt’s Safe School Law,” was named after Matt Epling, an honor-roll student who killed himself at the age of 14 in 2002 after being assaulted by anti-gay bullies at his school.
The draft law, which passed the state Senate with 26 Republican votes against 11 Democratic votes and now advances to the lower house, includes language inserted before the vote that says the bill “does not prohibit a statement of a sincerely held belief or moral conviction” of a student or school worker.
Activists say that the provision gives bullies license to prey on other students — especially those who are gay, lesbian or transgender — and, at least as important, gives bystanders who should be trying to stop bullying an excuse not to intervene.
The real story here is not the amendment which undermines the whole essence of the legislation, but it is the value of the legislation to begin with. The essence of this legislation is to “push each school district in the state to write their own anti-bullying policy.” Australian schools have been mandated for some time to have their own anti-bullying policies. These policies are wonderful at preventing schools from being targets of litigation. They can simply point to their vague and fickle policy and ward off most lawsuits. But when it comes to its ability to prevent bullying behaviours it has been completely useless.
Bullying legislation has never and will never have a marked impact on bullies and bullying behaviour.
In the name of Matt Epling and all others who have been subjected to malicious bouts of bullying, stop pretending to do something and actually devise something that actually works!
Tags: Activists, Anti-Bullying Policy, Bullying, Bystanders, Democrat, Education, Kevin Epling, Law, Legislation, Matt Epling, Matt’s Safe School Law, News, Politics, Republican, Sen. Rick Jones, YouTube
Topical Teaching 
November 6, 2011 at 11:40 pm |
Bullying in schools will never be eliminated while authorities continue to use the practice as a staff management strategy. As long as schools are administered by people who bully teachers (but call it something else) nothing will change. Executive staff that bully teachers also bully students, thereby modelling such behaviour. In many cases the teachers that are bullied are highly competent professionals who pose a threat to people who have climbed the ladder by getting transitory results. Those charged with human resource management look at the results but don’t care much how the results are attained.
November 6, 2011 at 11:58 pm |
Excellent point John. Until some of these schools change their culture of bullying (from top down), no significant change will occur.
November 7, 2011 at 8:05 am |
John is so very much on target esp adm’s bullying teachers. Re kids on kids, all the rules , laws and legislation in the world will change nothing. Most bullying goes unnoticed and concealed by the victim out of fear and shame. I know. It happened to me. I wish I coulda met those guys as an adult. As you see I still have resentments. The victim is scarred for life. What is so dangerous is that the teen without help sees no alternative but to bring a weapon to school. At least half of my 11th grade girls carried a single edge razor blade in the purse. Surprisingly incidents or bullying, fighting and other violence were reduced. The blade was the hidden equalizer I suppose. As a teacher I intervened whenever possible.