Chuck Smith
Specific references to LGBT youth will be removed from two anti-bullying bills backed by Equality Texas to improve their chances of passage and de-politicize the issue, Instant Tea has learned.
One of the bills, House Bill 224 by State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, is scheduled for a committee hearing Tuesday.
Chuck Smith, deputy director of Equality Texas, said Monday that a substitute for HB 224 will be introduced during the hearing that removes all enumerated categories — including sexual orientation — from a provision requiring school districts to report incidents of bullying to the state.
Instead, the substitute bill will direct the Texas education commissioner to specify what types of bullying must be reported. Smith said enumerated categories will also be removed from a companion bill in the Senate, SB 242 by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. Davis’ bill as originally drafted included both sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
“If they were all there it likely wouldn’t pass,” Smith said, referring to the enumerated categories. “At the end of the day, the reporting part is not important compared to the rest of the guts of the bill.”
HB 224 and SB 242 would establish uniform definitions for bullying and cyberbullying in the state education code, and require districts to create training programs for students, parents, staff and volunteers. The bills would also allow officials to transfer bullies to different classes or campuses than their victims.
Strama’s HB 224 is scheduled for a hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the House public education committee. It’s one of three bills backed by Equality Texas scheduled for committee hearings Tuesday.
HB 172, by Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, would launch a study on the effectiveness of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act. HB 172 is scheduled for a hearing at 10:30 a.m. in the House criminal jurisprudence committee.
HB 130, by Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, would incorporate an anti-bullying hotline into the state’s existing Texas Abuse/Neglect Hotline. HB 130 is scheduled for a hearing at 2 p.m. in the House human services committee.
Smith said it’s unlikely that any of the bills will be voted on Tuesday. You can watch committee hearings live on the Legislature’s website. For more information on Equality Texas’ legislative agenda, go here. To register for the group’s lobby day on Monday, March 7, go here.
UPDATE: The full text of the substitute bill is here. Smith also had this to say on Facebook:
“I would have preferred a headline like, ‘House Public Ed Committee to hear landmark anti-bullying bill that will protect every child based upon any actual or perceived personal characteristics, behavior, or belief.’ That’s what’s IN the bill and EVERY child will be protected. The enumerated references were removed from reporting guidelines, not who is covered by the bill.”
Great! Once again we throw LGBT kids under the bus and claim it’s so the bill will pass. Sounds a heck of a lot like ENDA, where Transgender was removed so it would pass…..yeah right!
No child, LGBT or otherwise, has been thrown under the bus!
The definition of bullying and cyberbullying includes any “actual or perceived personal characteristics, behavior or beliefs”. There are no loopholes; EVERY child is to be protected from bullying!
ALL members of our Texas Safe Schools Coalition support the committee substitute language, including Equality Texas, Transgender Education Network of Texas, and the GLBT Issues Committee of the National Association of Social Workers-Texas.
The full text of the committee substitute can be viewed online at :
https://www.equalitytexas.org/content.aspx?id=623
Chuck Smith
This watered down language is unbelievable. It is totally a reminder of the ENDA bill where HRC (and Barney) stripped out the T from legislation…only to regret it later. I agree with Hardy on this “under the bus” language change by Equality Texas. Who would vote no against this version?
Chuck:
Why do we need to add “LGBT” with ENDA to Civil Rights Act. To give no one an opportunity to discriminate against us because history has shown if you are not specific then it will still happen. I know what it feels like to have comments on an article about community work you’ve done but her comment is a valid concern and felt by many. It only gets better when we get specfic and hold people accountable! Why this bothers me so much is that we have fought so hard to get “LGBT” included as a part of bullying on the local level because the policy that wasn’t specfic wasn’t being enforced by schools and I don’t want any more of our community’s children ending their lives way too soon… So, I hope you are right because the community…will be watching!!!
C.D.
Greetings, sister!
Since the Repeal of DADT is now in the “implementation” stage (albeit there is much work still to be done and I shall continue to work on the SLDN Board to that end) I asked EQTX if I could “bring some of my energy home.” I am honored that they have accepted me as a member of their Foundation Board.
We have a Board meeting scheduled for this coming Sunday – my first with them. You can lean on me if you will and not Chuck, a staff member. Anti-bullying is a hot button with me and I will address the “non-enumerated” Bill with the Board and will get Wendy Davis’ take prior to the meeting. Strategies are not always easily understood by
I guess what I am saying, bottom line C.D., is that one of us street fighters is back home. Will you join me in Austin on Monday?
Chief
P.S. KBH isn’t running again! Thanks to you!
According to GLSEN, anti-bullying policies that specifically state that LGBTQ kids are included actually have a measurable impact on school climate, while anti-bullying policies that don’t enumerate the categories to be protected are as bad as having no policy at all.
The glaring aspect is that “gay” is so contentious, and that there are people so homophobic, that they cannot bring themselves to vote for a bill that includes the term “protections of LGBT individuals.” They can accept watered down language, but cannot accept sexual orientation/gender identity specific language. That REALLY says it all. Yeah, you can say the bill, in it’s vague state, still protected gay kids, but the fact is, gay in itself is still seen as a word with disdain, from the same people who are supposed to be protecting gay kids. A real eye opener to just how far we’ve come, but how far we’ve got to go.
I wouldn’t spit in texas let alone go to that hateful state……another state among MOST in America to AVOID!