Legislative efforts to protect bullied children in Texas schools just passed the Senate Education Committee. The Texas House passed House Bill 1942 on May 4. The full Senate must now approve the bill to send it on to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature.
If HB 1942 becomes law, it would:
- Include the definition of bullying in Chaper 37 (Discipline) of the Texas Education Code.
- Update the definition of bullying to include bullying through electronic means (cyberbullying).
- Provide for the transfer of the student who engages in bullying. Currently, only the target of bullying may be transferred.
- Allow staff development to include training on preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.
- Mandate that the board of trustees of each school district adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, to address the prevention, investigation and reporting of incidents of bullying.
The Texas Freedom Network supports passage of HB 1942. But religious-right groups have opposed such legislation, bizarrely arguing that it somehow promotes homosexuality. Sexual orientation isn’t even mentioned in HB 1942. Yet crass political calculations apparently lead extremist groups like Texas Eagle Forum to oppose any bill that just might have the effect of also protecting gay kids from abuse.
Another unstated reason for the wingnuts to oppose the anti-bullying bill is that evangelizing is bullying by another name. Yes, they want to bully anyone who’s not straight heterosexual, but they also want to bully anyone who doesn’t follow their particular religious faith.
Many of the worst bullying incidents in public schools have nothing to do with being gay. There are mean girls out there, and there are guys roaming the hallways that will be bedding down in the state prison for 10-20 years within two years after leaving high school—probably not by graduation. The innocent kids deserve protection from these incipient predators until they graduate.
We had bullying in my schoold when I was growing up, and little to none of it had anything to do with being gay. Our remedy back then was two good fists. However, if you protect yourself that way today, you will get kicked out of school. Therefore, with the system having taken those fists away, the least it can do is stand in and defend the kids.