• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Education / Governor’s anti-bullying plan may face hurdles

Governor’s anti-bullying plan may face hurdles

January 15, 2014 By O. Kay Henderson

Governor Terry Branstad’s new anti-bullying plan would require school officials to notify the parents of a student who is “involved in a bullying incident.” Representative Josh Byrnes, a Republican from Osage who’s a former high school teacher, says legislators “need more clarification” about that idea.

“Boy, there’s some gray area,” Byrnes says. “Kind of like the whole mandatory reporter thing? If you know something as an educator, you have to report it?…If I’m a high school principal and I think there’s some bullying or we have something happen at school, am I now obligated as an administrator to go out onto the social media and find out if there is cyber-bullying going on between those two students, too?”

According to the governor’s staff, parents can’t act to protect their kids if they don’t know there is a problem and that “parental notification requirement” would help. Branstad’s proposal would give school officials “discretion” to respond to bullying outside of school if someone files a complaint and the alleged bullying has “significant impact on students on school grounds.”

Representative Frank Wood, a Democrat from Ellsworth who is a principal at North Scott High School, says that’s already his school’s policy, spelled out in the student handbook.

“To me, it’s just like fighting off of school grounds. We don’t do anything off of school grounds, but if it’s brought onto school grounds, now we can deal with it,” Wood says. “Same thing with cyber bullying, any type of bullying — if it becomes a school issue, we can deal with it.”

Wood predicts  Republican concerns about infringing on parental rights will ultimately doom the governor’s anti-bullying plan.

“It’s my understanding that the biggest issue is that there’s some feeling that it’s ‘big government’ or ‘big daddy’ looking over your shoulder,” Wood says.

Branstad’s anti-bullying plan requires all “licensed school officials” to complete a training program in how to respond to bullying. The governor’s budget plan sets aside $25,000 for a series of “webinars” that would provide the training — free of charge — to teachers, principals and superintendents.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Education, Human Interest, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Democratic Party, Legislature, Republican Party, Terry Branstad

Featured Stories

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

Iowa’s governor approves liability limits for trucking industry

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/5/23

Iowa eliminated at NCAA regional

Iowa names Beth Goetz interim AD

Cyclone Trio Invited to USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

Cameron Young to compete at the John Deere Classic

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC