Bentonville School Board member eyes bullying policy tweak

 Brent Leas Brent Leas
Brent Leas Brent Leas

BENTONVILLE -- School Board member Brent Leas said this week he would like to change the School District's bullying policy so it no longer lists various attributes -- such as sexual orientation and gender identity -- for which a person could be the target of bullying.

"It is better to have a policy that simply and inclusively prohibits 'bullying' across the board," Leas said.

Brent Leas

Brent Leas joined the Bentonville School Board in 2012. He lives in Bella Vista and represents the School District’s Zone 2, which covers most of east Bella Vista.

Source: Staff report

Leas wrote a two-page letter on the subject he read at Monday's board meeting. He asked the topic be added as a discussion item to the agenda of the board's July 13 meeting.

Leas acknowledged later in the week, however, state legislation enacted a few years ago mandates those specific classifications be included in school district bullying policies.

"In hindsight the letter might have been drafted a little bit incorrectly in asking for a change in the policy, because it would take legislative action first," he said. "At this point it's just a broad conversation I'm wishing to have with the board where we can talk out the issue and have an open dialogue and discussion, and look for ways to approach a potential change down the road."

The district's bullying policy, last revised in 2011, refers to a person's "attributes" that frequently make them the target of bullying, "including without limitation race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, socioeconomic status, academic status, disability, gender, gender identity, physical appearance, health condition, or sexual orientation."

That list leaves out things such obesity and stature, Leas said.

"The list could go on and on," he said. "I want to be able to protect all kids."

The board is considering changing its Equal Employment Opportunity policy so it would protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Leas has consistently opposed those additions, which originally were proposed by board member Grant Lightle in April.

Those supporting the Equal Employment Opportunity policy change have pointed out the district's bullying policy specially recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity, Leas said.

Bullying has always been an issue within schools, "But we cannot allow well-intentioned policies to be perverted and used as cloaks for the promotion of homosexuality programs" in the district, Leas' letter states.

"Sexual behavior does not need to be either specifically identified, or glorified to our children, for our schools to be safe and combat the problems associated with bullying," the letter states.

His letter proposes the district either remove sexual orientation and gender identity from the policy or replace it with one based on a policy drafted by either Alliance Defending Freedom or Liberty Counsel, two conservative organizations.

Lightle called the idea of removing specific attributes from the bullying policy "ridiculous." That would be like saying discrimination is wrong without defining what discrimination is, he said.

"Taking a policy and making it more nebulous does not create an environment where you'll have stronger enforcement," Lightle said. "I think (Leas) misreads the public's sentiment and their concern about bullying. The way you improve behavior is not by creating more ambiguity."

Michael Poore, district superintendent, said the board has some flexibility with its policies, but school districts can't mess with the laws.

"As a result the conversation really doesn't take us very far, because state law is going to trump whatever we want to do," Poore said.

Leas believes there's a chance the law could be changed, given the current makeup of the Legislature. He said he understands the next regular legislative session isn't until 2017 and there will be some new faces in the Legislature by then.

Leas said he has shared his thoughts with state Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, and state Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs.

"Both said they would look at the letter and try to craft a response in advance of our July board meeting," Leas said.

NW News on 06/19/2015

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