Granholm says Kuipers ‘wrong’ about anti-bullying legislation

A spokesperson for Gov. Jennifer Granholm Tuesday said Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) was “wrong” when he characterized the freeze on the state’s anti-bullying legislation.

In an interview with Michigan Messenger, Kuipers, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said the legislation was stalled because lawmakers were having trouble defining bullying.

“That is wrong,” says Granholm spokesperson Megan Brown. “It is clearly defined in each and every bill and even in one that passed out of his committee — even in one that he voted for and reported from his committee.”

To support her statement, Brown released the following e-mail statement:

Last session, Kuipers voted for in and reported from his committee HB 4091 and HB 4162 (with S-2).

HB 4162 defined bullying as:
(B) “BULLYING OR HARASSMENT” MEANS ABUSE OF A PUPIL BY 1 OR MORE OTHER PUPILS IN ANY FORM. THE TERM INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, CONDUCT THAT MEETS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
(i) SUBSTANTIALLY INTERFERES WITH EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, BENEFITS, OR PROGRAMS OF 1 OR MORE PUPILS.
(ii) ADVERSELY AFFECTS THE ABILITY OF A PUPIL TO PARTICIPATE IN OR BENEFIT FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S OR PUBLIC SCHOOL’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES BY PLACING THE PUPIL IN REASONABLE FEAR OF PHYSICAL HARM OR 1 BY CAUSING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
(iii) IS REASONABLY PERCEIVED TO BE MOTIVATED BY ANIMUS OR BY AN ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED CHARACTERISTIC.
(iv) MEETS THE DEFINITION OF BULLYING OR HARASSMENT AS DEFINED IN THE MODEL ANTI-BULLYING POLICY ADOPTED BY THE STATE BOARD ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2006.

S-2 defined bullying as:

(B) “BULLYING OR HARASSMENT” MEANS ABUSE OF A PUPIL BY 1 OR MORE OTHER PUPILS IN ANY FORM. THE TERM INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, CONDUCT THAT MEETS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
(i) SUBSTANTIALLY INTERFERES WITH EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, BENEFITS, OR PROGRAMS OF 1 OR MORE PUPILS.
(ii) ADVERSELY AFFECTS THE ABILITY OF A PUPIL TO PARTICIPATE IN OR BENEFIT FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S OR PUBLIC SCHOOL’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES BY PLACING THE PUPIL IN REASONABLE FEAR OF PHYSICAL HARM OR BY CAUSING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
(iii) IS REASONABLY PERCEIVED TO BE MOTIVATED BY ANIMUS OR BY AN ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED CHARACTERISTIC.

Brown said Granholm continues to support legislation, something she brought renewed attention to earlier this month when she called on the legislature to act on the bills.

But even Granholm’s stated support for the legislation has drawn some concern. In response to Michigan Messenger’s report on Granholm’s statement she was willing to approve legislation which did not enumerate, or list, protected classes, a coalition of national groups — including Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) and the Family Equality Council (FEC) — issued the following statement:

“We applaud Gov. Granholm for urging lawmakers to take up anti-bullying legislation that includes language spelling out or enumerating prohibitions on specific kinds of bullying. Several authoritative studies demonstrate why school policies that include enumeration language, including sexual orientation and gender identity, are vital to school safety and protection from verbal and physical abuse. Students who attend schools with enumerated anti-harassment policies report they feel safer and are less likely to skip a class because they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Enumeration does not create special groups or privileges; rather, it provides safety in a way that research has shown is essential for protecting all students–and particularly the one million American children who have LGBT parents. Safe schools legislation that affords the strongest protections through enumeration and mandated training programs should be the standard for the rest of the country.”