Republicans in the Michigan state Senate recently passed a bill entitled “Matt’s Safe School Law”, an anti-bullying measure designed to reduce bullying and harassment in Michigan public schools. Though Republican lawmakers claim the bill will help prevent students from bullying, Matt’s Safe School Law is simply a front for continued bigotry and intolerance.
The bill aims to end bullying, but it outlines no requirements for enforcement of the policy, nor does it address teacher training. Also, the current bill does not hold teachers and administrators accountable if they fail to act. In fact, a last minute clause added to the bill protects possible harassers and bullies — students, teachers, administrators and even students’ parents — from disciplinary action if they have a “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction” that can be construed to justify their harassment. Though this clause is intended to protect students’ first amendment rights, it simply gives bullies an excuse to torment their classmates. Furthermore, the language of the bill is far too subjective and vague for any administrator or teacher to determine appropriate action if an incident is to occur. What qualifies as a “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction”?
The original version of the bill, introduced by Democrats in the state House of Representatives in 2006, enumerated the policy to outline specific groups of students that are often at risk for bullying and harassment. The original bill mandated that no student be harassed or bullied based particular characteristics or identities including race, sexual orientation, religion and ability status, among others. This version of the bill did not pass in the Michigan Senate.
According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), enumerated policies are far more effective. Students who attend schools with enumerated anti-harassment policies are 50% more likely to feel safe at school. An enumerated policy that includes religion would provide the same protection to religious students as the clause that Senate Republicans added at the last minute without sacrificing other students’ safety.
Matt’s Safe School Law is named after Matt Epling, a Michigan student who committed suicide in 2002 after experiencing severe bullying at the hands of his classmates. Matt’s father, Kevin Epling, called the current bill “ridiculous” in a video he posted on his website devoted to ending bullying in the name of his son. The video expressed his dismay with the current bill. “Rather than providing a blueprint for schools to handle the situation, they have given students an easy way to assault, harass, belittle and harm fellow students with no recourse by the schools,” wrote Epling on his website of the clause that was added to the bill.
A school climate survey conducted by GLSEN in 2009 showed that students are routinely harassed based on their sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, race or ethnicity and ability status. The study also showed that students are most frequently bullied based on sexual orientation. Eighty seven percent of the students surveyed reported verbal harassment based on sexual orientation in the past year. The study also presented alarming statistics in regards to teacher and administrator response to bullying. Fifty eight percent of students surveyed who experienced bullying said that they never reported incidents to staff members. Though some students did report instances of bullying to teachers or administrators, only 43% of those students found the staff response to be helpful, appropriate or effective.
These statistics should serve as a glaring red flag to Michigan lawmakers. We need an enumerated anti-bullying policy in order to maintain a safe school environment. As it currently stands, Matt’s Safe School Law not only disregards bullying as a serious issue, but also enables students to harass their peers. Through this bill, Republicans in the Michigan state Senate have dishonored Matt Epling and used his story as a justification for their own bigotry and intolerance while excusing the kind of behavior that led to Epling’s tragic death. Michigan lawmakers need to give students what Matt didn’t have: a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that will truly protect students from unacceptable abuse.
