Iowa Lawmakers Enact Detailed Anti-Bullying Law to Be in Schools This Fall

According to the Iowa Department of Education (DE) web site, lawmakers have enacted a new law requiring every school district to have written policies against bullying and harassment.

Following the legislative mandate, the DE and the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) are expecting and assisting their school districts to prepare written policies that will help assure that every student attending public schools will be able to do so in a safe and civil school environment.

The policies will be designed to reduce and eliminate bullying and harassment by making sure processes and procedures to deal with incidents of malicious behavior are detailed and clear. The policies will be directed toward bullying and harassment of students by school employees and volunteers who have direct contact with students, in addition to student-on-student behaviors.

In general, harassment and bullying includes behaviors such as hazing and any other kind of victimization of a student. But the detail outlined in Iowa's policies appears to leave no behavior or vulnerable attribute overlooked.

The policies are to cover malicious acts based on virtually everything: age, color, creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or disability, ancestry, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status or familial status. They also mean any electronic (cell phones, e-mail, pagers, web sites, internet-based communications), written, verbal or physical acts.

The policies are expected to be in effect and enforced as long as a student is on property within the jurisdiction of the school board, while on school-owned or school-operated vehicles and while attending or engaged in school-sponsored activities.

When a complaint is filed, an investigation must be done to determine if the behavior or situation placed the victim student in reasonable fear of harm to either the student or their property, had a substantial detrimental affect on the victim student's physical or mental health, substantially interfered with the student's academic performance, or substantially interfered with the student's ability to participate in or benefit from things provided by the school.

In addition to the harassment and bullying behaviors themselves, the written policies are to outline the procedures for filing a written complaint, including written witness statements, investigation procedures, dealing with retribution and steps for resolving complaints.

In full support of the new law is the GLBT Iowa Safe Schools Task Force. The Task Force was founded in April 2002 for the purpose of increasing understanding in local school districts and communities about gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender students.

In a January 2006 study, the Task Force found that bullying, harassment and discrimination against GLBT in Iowa schools was the rule, rather than the exception. It further found, however, that Iowa as a state was making significant progress in helping create safer schools. The passage of this latest legislation is another major milestone.

Sources:

Iowa Department of Education; http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/942/1106/

GLBT Iowa Safe Schools; http://www.iowasafeschools.org/index.htm