 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
WATERLOO --- A closely divided Board of Education Monday approved the addition of "sexual orientation" to policies on student harassment after nearly an hour of comments from people on both sides of the issue. The board voted 4-3 to include the term in nine policies. Voting in favor of the change were Judy Fossell, Bernice Richard, Pam Miller and Barb Opheim. Voting against it were Lyle Schmitt, Don Hanson and Mike Kindschi. Board members seemed to agree bullying for any reason should not be tolerated in the schools. However, they disagreed about the way policies should address the problem. The debate packed the board room. Many of the 19
people who spoke on the topic were East and West high school students,
and at least 12 favored adding sexual orientation to the policies.
Walker, a member of West's Gay-Straight Alliance, has been beaten because she is a lesbian. Her jaw was broken in two places and she received "many other injuries." Another West student believes the policy change would raise awareness of bullying against students who are homosexuals or perceived to be. She said students in both categories get picked on every day at school. "It's important to the safety of our schools and the quality of our education," David Meeks, executive director of the Waterloo Human Rights Commission, said in support of the policy change. "I can't imagine what America would be like today if we didn't have policies that protect individuals that don't fit into that perfect mold," said Joan Stigler, a past president of Club Les Dames. Representatives of the Waterloo Education Association, the Black Hawk County NAACP and the Fairness Alliance also spoke in favor of the change. The Rev. Jay Burt, president of the East Side Ministerial Alliance, urged the board not to change the policies. "If a child has a problem, they should be able to go to their teacher," he said. "I believe that can be done with the policy that's in place. There don't need to be any changes." "This group of students doesn't always report to the teacher, because they don't always know where the teacher is on this issue," said Joanie Christensen-Sund, West counselor and adviser to the Gay-Straight Alliance. She added the Iowa Youth Survey shows more than 80 percent of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender students are verbally harassed while 70 percent report feeling unsafe at school. Such students are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than their peers, she said. Warren George, a member of the Human Rights Commission and a retired teacher, said some teachers do not step in when a homosexual student is being bullied. And he recalled hearing jokes about homosexual students in the faculty lounge. "Until you --- the ones responsible --- stand up and say it is no longer all right to look the other way, it will not change," he told the board. Others opposed the change because they said homosexual students are already protected under the U.S. Constitution or because the district policies in question would never be inclusive of all categories of bullied students. Marcella Gruver of Waterloo proposed changing a harassment policy so that a committee of community members and educators looks into complaints rather than a single investigator. But she also objected to adding sexual orientation into the policies. "Remember, discrimination is a two-way street," she said. "So why are you placing special emphasis on the harassment of gay and lesbian students?" An Iowa Department of Education equity review last spring noted concerns with the absence of the term "sexual orientation" from nondiscrimination and harassment policies, noting the district is liable for injuries or property damage suffered by gay and lesbian students that occur on school property. Board member Schmitt argued state officials were injecting their political agenda into district policies, calling the approval a "dangerous precedent" for the board. He believes the change will alienate a segment of the district's population, weakening support for public education. "As long as we allow politics to be in the sandbox of public education, we will not get that level of support," he said. Affected policies actually address more than student bullying. They relate to educational philosophy, nondiscrimination, harassment, equal employment and education opportunities, superintendent appointments, student conduct and instructional materials. Board members' split came after proposals supported by the three men to postpone the vote or amend the changes were all opposed by the four women and subsequently failed. Hanson first moved to table the student nondiscrimination policy. Schmitt then moved to postpone the entire vote so policies could be rewritten to "gain more board and public support." Finally, Schmitt moved to add "physical appearance" to a list of harassment causes that include sexual orientation. After that proposal failed, he suggested efforts to protect all students from bullying had just gone "up in smoke." Those who voted against his proposal said such an addition should first go through the policy review committee, as the sexual orientation change did. Fossell, a committee member, said including further categories of students in the policies could then be discussed and reviewed by district attorneys. |