Powerful testimony at Safe Schools bill hearing
The Senate Education Committee heard powerful testimony on March 18th for the Safe Schools for All bill which would expand anti-bullying, harassment and violence protections for GLBT and other youth.
Students (l to r) Leah Matz, Andy Berlin, and Khara Hesse tell their stories of being bullied and harassed in school. Said Hesse, "We see bulying in our schools everyday," and according to Berlin, "I experienced extreme harassment because I'm gay. I didn't feel safe in the hallway."
Bill author State Senator Scott Dibble who told the committee that bullying is very serious business and can lead to problems of self esteem and even suicidal ideation. He said bullying and harassment is an especially serious problem facing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.
After the hearing, bill proponents held a news conference with lots of members of the capitol press corps in attendance.
Media Coverage
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The committee is scheduled to finish hearing testimony and vote on the bill on Tuesday, March 24th.
See all the allied organizations supporting this bill.
The bill would require Minnesota schools to ensure protections for GLBT and other youth against bullying, harassment, intimidation and violence. The bill would require school districts to provide protections to all groups currently covered by the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
In addition, the legislation would protect the children of GLBT parents!
This bill would address an all-too common problem in our schools - that of kids being forced to endure environments hostile to their education because they are personally targeted on the basis of things like sexual orientation/gender identity, disability, national origin, and physical characteristics. The legislation would simply expand the categories of people that schools already cover with their anti-bullying policies.
Education Minnesota, the state's largest teachers' union, has endorsed this legislation.
Senate sponsors are: Senators Scott Dibble, Charles Wiger, Sandy Rummel, Tom Saxhaug and Jim Carlson. The bill number is S.F. 971
House sponsors are: Representatives Jim Davnie, Jeff Hayden, Karen Clark, David Bly, Jerry Newton, Carla Bigham, Will Morgan, Carlos Mariani, Roger Reinert, Mindy Greiling, Nora Slawik, Debra Hilstrom, Linda Slocum, Kate Knuth, Andy Welti, Julie Bunn, John Ward and Margaret Anderson Kelliher. The bill number is H.F. 1198.
Contact your lawmakers to express your support for this bill!