Photo: Dierdre McNerdy, Flickr

Photo: Dierdre Condre

A bill directing schools to adopt anti-bullying procedures was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on Thursday. The Safe Schools for All legislation (SF 971) will require school boards to implement policies against bullying, ensure training for school staff and collect data on bullying incidents. The legislation was crafted by LGBT groups but will prohibit bullying for every child.

The bill covers “actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, and association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.” It also adds electronic forms of bullying.

According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, at least 30 percent of students, or 5.7 million, are involved in some form of bullying every year. About 10 percent of students report staying home from school at least once a year because of bullying.

The bill is likely to face opposition from the Minnesota Family Council because it specificiall references sexual orientation and gender identity. When Minneapolis Public Schools was considering an anti-bullying curriculum that included LGBT students and students from LGBT families, the Family Council opposed it. “Let’s stick with the basics,” said Churck Darrell, the group’s communications director. “We oppose homosexual marriage, anti-bullying and sex education curricula that affirms homosexual behavior because the medical evidence proves it is a killer.”

The bill is being introduced by DFL Sens. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis, Charles Wiger of Maplewood, Sandy Rummel of White Bear Lake and Tom Saxhaug of Grand Rapids.

Earlier: Anti-bullying bill seeks Safe Schools for All