An East Valley state senator is blaming a Christian family values lobbying group for killing legislation designed to strengthen laws that require schools to crack down on bullying.
Senate Minority Leader David Schapira, D-Tempe, said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, convinced legislative leaders and others that SB 1462 is really part of a gay-friendly agenda. He said there is no reference to sexual orientation in the legislation.
Herrod would not respond to repeated requests for an interview or to answer any of Schapira’s charges. But in her Internet newsletter and a subsequent prepared statement, she acknowledged her organization’s opposition — and its role in convincing lawmakers to kill the measure.
“There is no doubt about it; the ‘bullying’ theme is agenda-driven propaganda,” Herrod wrote.
“Groups like Equality Arizona and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network have used the bullying issue in order to gain access to our public schools,” she said. Herrod said these are the organizations who supporters of the legislation would bring into classrooms to provide the training included in Schapira’s legislation.
Schapira did not dispute that one group he wants protected is students who are bullied because of their sexual orientation. But he said that does not make the whole measure suspect and blasted Herrod for using her group’s considerable influence at the Capitol to bury the entire measure.
“Cathi Herrod, an unelected lobbyist, killed a bill that would protect all Arizona kids purely because of her intolerance of gay kids,” he said, calling her a “legislative terrorist.”
Arizona enacted its first anti-bullying legislation in 2005, requiring school district governing boards to adopt policies and procedures to prohibit students from harassing, intimidating and bullying other students. That law also mandates a confidential reporting process and procedures to investigate incidents.
Last year the law was amended to add new reporting procedures that discipline staff for failing to report suspected incidents.
“The bullying laws in this state are insufficient,” Schapira said.
Schapira, who sits on the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board, said the Arizona School Boards Association advised districts after last year’s changes were approved that “not much has changed. There’s really very little you have to do as districts to comply with this law.”
He said SB 1462 was different.
“This bill would have every school in the state offering training to their teachers, administrators, so they know how to recognize bullying so they could deal with it,” he said.
What it also included was training for students and parents in indentifying and reporting incidents.
That got Herrod’s attention.
“The questions arise when one considers which organizations would provide the training and which organizations are behind the legislation,” she wrote in her Internet newsletter. And she said that gay rights groups and the Anti-Defamation League “were all in attendance at the bill’s committee hearing to support and see the legislation pass.”
“Groups like Equality Arizona and GLSEN have chosen this issue to bully you and me into allowing them access into our schools and to our children,” she said.
Schapira said nowhere in his legislation does it mention sexual orientation, instead saying students should not be bullied for any reason at all.
mwmike posted at 4:36 pm on Thu, Mar 15, 2012.
The only issue here is compassion vs. hatred.
downtownresident posted at 5:53 pm on Thu, Mar 15, 2012.
Kathi Herrod has been a radical for a long time. Eagle Forum??
Her views are radical tea party right wing fanatic moron.
She represents every thing that is repulsive about the radical right.
DFCheney posted at 6:01 pm on Thu, Mar 15, 2012.
So tired of these religulites. I'm pretty sure if there is a god she's an atheist.
Rich posted at 7:51 pm on Thu, Mar 15, 2012.
School yard bullies, join dog leashes and car seats on a list of absurd and ridiculous things that the legislature diddles with. It's not government it's anarchy and it's gone well beyond sanity. We'd all be a lot better off if the morons we hire to run things, could.
movingazforward posted at 10:08 pm on Thu, Mar 15, 2012.
Which c(R-AZ)y legislator(s) killed the bill? I hope and pray that all of their children and grandchildren, despite being raised in an environment of ignorance and hate, can grow up to become adults who are able to think for themselves enough to find a path toward wisdom and compassion.
Informed2 posted at 6:56 am on Fri, Mar 16, 2012.
There was no opposition to this bill in any of the hearings. Herrod did all of this behind the scenes and did not have the courage to show up at the legislature. Meanwhile, all the education associations and their lobbyists supported the bill because our children need more bullying protections. So Herrod is an anti-children activist now.
sndvl55 posted at 12:19 pm on Fri, Mar 16, 2012.
Sounds like a lot adults who were bullied as children and still haven't gotten over it have commented already. Time to grow up, guys. Name-calling as a way of showing your support for "anti-bullying" legislaiton is a little hypocritical and shows your level of immaturity.
Good for Cathi Herrod for taking a stand against the "bullying" propaganda sweeping the public schools. "Anti-bullying" efforts are thinly-disguised pro-gay efforts. "Anti-bullying" training is merely leftist re-education.
Government can never rid the schoolyard of bullies... but many in government these days seem to be grown-up children that never got over the bullying they received. Now that they have some power, they become the bullies.
David Schapira is true "legislative terrorist". Tempe, please stop electing this man. He is the true bully in this situation. He wants to use his power (negligible as it is being a Dem in the AZ legislature) to bully the teachers, students and parents of AZ to take bullying awareness training which is basically code for re-education in leftist-approved thought. He is seeking to intimidate Arizona's educators into being thought-police for the pro-gay, pro-multiculti agenda. He even employs classic bullying techniques like name-calling when he labels Cathi Herrod a terrorist for standing up for what she believes in. Shame on David Schapira.
We don't need what is tantamount to hate crimes legislation for our schoolchildren. Schools already prohibit students from verbal and physical intimidation of others. We don't need more legislation.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 1:33 pm on Sat, Mar 17, 2012.
The "Bullying Bill" was stopped not because of what is said about bullying...but about the Gay Advocates, the Lesbian Advocates, the Trans-Sexual Advocates, the Trans-Gender Advocates, the Cross-Dresser Advocate that the bill would allow to come to your children's......GRAMMER SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL and HIGH SCHOOL....
and give Lectures and show Videos promoting their ..."LIFE-STYLES" .....to your innocent, impressionable...........CHILDREN.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DEMOCRATS....BRINGING IN SEXUAL PREDATORS AND CHILD ABUSES TO SHOW VIDEOS ON THEIR .........CRIMES ????
DrJCA1 posted at 11:21 am on Sun, Mar 18, 2012.
Rich: while I agree that the government at all levels arefar too involved in our everyday lives, when you add dog leashes and car seats to the mix, that dilutes the point you're trying to make. No dog leashes? Every dog should be on a leash. You cannot undo a bad bite to a child, now can you? Car seats? C'mon. Every kids hould be restrained in a moving vehicle and intrusive car seat laws have done much to save children's lives over the years. We need sensible approaches to laws, not knee-jerk reactions in either direction (too many or none). Truth is, if all adults would behave like responsible adults, we wouldn't need any of these laws. Sadly, so many so-called grown-ups act like ignorant children.