Rep. Carmine Boal (R-Ankeny) recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register in which she attempted to spank the Iowa Democratic majority over HF 149, the anti-harassment and anti-bullying legislation. She fell quite short of her mark, however, when statements made in her piece are placed against the documents to which she refers.
Boal writes:
Upon researching the question, I found that in order to be accredited by the state of Iowa all public and non-public schools must have a student discipline policy addressing harassment per Iowa Administrative Code 281-12.
The truth is that Code 281-12 reads differently than what HF 149 proposed. Here is a section 12.5(8) — which must be what Boal refers to since it appears to be the only language within the document which discusses harassment:
12.5(8) Multicultural and gender fair approaches to the educational program. The board shall establish a policy to ensure that students are free from discriminatory practices in the educational program as required by Iowa Code section 256.11. In developing or revising the policy, parents, students, instructional and noninstructional staff, and community members shall be involved. Each school or school district shall incorporate multicultural and gender fair goals for the educational program into its comprehensive school improvement plan. Incorporation shall include the following:
a. Multicultural approaches to the educational program. These shall be defined as approaches which foster knowledge of, and respect and appreciation for, the historical and contemporary contributions of diverse cultural groups, including race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, and socioeconomic background. The contributions and perspectives of Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, European Americans, and persons with disabilities shall be included in the program.
b. Gender fair approaches to the educational program. These shall be defined as approaches which foster knowledge of, and respect and appreciation for, the historical and contemporary contributions of women and men to society. The program shall reflect the wide variety of roles open to both women and men and shall provide equal opportunity to both sexes.
The overall thrust of Boal’s argument against this piece of legislation isn’t made evident in her writing until eight paragraphs into her piece. At that point, she encourages the reader to question why “the majority party” would want to list the “traits or characteristics upon which harassment or bullying can be based.” Even here, however, Boal leads her readers to believe that the legislation has limited the traits and characteristics to only those listed. In truth, HF 149 reads:
b. “Trait or characteristic of the student” includes but is not limited to 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.
True to her GOP talking points, Boal seems poised to strike fear into the hearts of all Iowans based on a few key words within the legislation: “sex,” “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and, perhaps, “political party preference” as well. I’m not sure why the GOP feels only certain Iowa students need protection from bullying. Shouldn’t we be the state which paints with a broad brush when it comes to student safety? Obviously, for some in the Iowa legislature, student safety isn’t a primary concern when it clashes with party ideology. Shame on them!
Finally, the one part of the bill which seemed to give Boal — and we imagine most of her GOP counterparts pleasure — was an amendment which allowed non-public to be immune to the new legislation.
Despite Boal’s misgivings, the bill passed the House and has been sent to the Senate where it is now SF 61. Gov. Chet Culver has stated he will sign this legislation if it is passed by both houses.
Here’s our shout out to the Iowa Senate: Iowa Administrative Code 281-12 already includes an exemption request process. Let all the non-public schools who wish to be accredited by the state explain in detail why they find some Iowa students not worth protecting.
