Bill to crack down on bullies endorsed

HELENA – Despite concerns over when a student crosses the line from childish behavior to harassment and intimidation, the Montana House on Monday endorsed a bill intended to crack down on schoolyard bullies.

The measure, tentatively approved 52-47, requires the state Board of Public Education and school districts to develop a policy that can be used in Montana schools. But it stops short of the original version that would have mandated all districts adopt anti-bullying policies, something critics said trespassed on the constitutionally protected authority of local school boards.

Still, supporters argued the Senate-passed bill is a necessary step toward encouraging districts to act for the benefit of students.

“Kids should be able to expect to show up in a safe, friendly school environment every day,” said Rep. Wanda Grinde, a teacher and Billings Democrat.

A Great Falls teacher, Democratic Rep. Kathleen Galvin-Halcro, said some estimates indicate 15 percent to 30 percent of students are targets of bullies or are bullies themselves. Victims are more likely to drop out of school and the instigators are more apt to get in trouble with the law, she said.

“Every school needs a policy to make sure that every student that enters that building every day is safe,” she told fellow lawmakers.

Foes of the bill called it so ambiguous as to leave school officials confused about what behavior translates into unacceptable bullying and harassment.

Rep. Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman, stuck his tongue out and questioned whether such a common childhood gesture would be outlawed under the kind of policy authorized under the measure.

“The fact is kids act up,” he said. “They do things that aren’t nice. They make other kids feel bad. I’m not sure when that becomes bullying.”

Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, called the legislation “the most absurd thing I have seen come through this body.”

As a young student, he was small and constantly bullied because of his size, Butcher recalled. “I smashed one kid’s face into a brick wall and he never bothered me again.”

The state education board should be allowed to deal with the bullying issue on its own terms, said Republican Rep. Joan Andersen, a teacher from Fromberg. The board already has the issue on its May meeting agenda, she noted.