Monday, March 19, 2012

Sumner County residents present 3 anti-bullying proposals to School Board


Contact:  Kelly Fussman                                                                                PRESS RELEASE
Cell Phone: 615/513-4028                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
E-mail: kellyfussman@yahoo.com

SUMNER COUNTY CITIZENS MAKE 3 ANTI-BULLYING
PROPOSALS TO BOARD OF EDUCATION

March 19, 2012

Hendersonville, TN—On March 15, Sumner County residents delivered three anti-bullying proposals for consideration by the Sumner County Board of Education at its March meeting.  The proposals resulted from ongoing discussions of bullying by Sumner County residents and youth and equality advocates from Nashville after a series of youth suicides over the past three months.

Two of the proposals acknowledge steps taken by Sumner County Schools to address bullying, including efforts to provide teacher trainings.  In the first proposal, Dr. Ryan Footit of Hendersonville recommends that Sumner County Schools provide a monthly report to the public that would document the number of bullying cases per school and how they were resolved.  In the second proposal, Helenmary Hendrix of Gallatin proposes that copies of the curriculum used to train teachers on bullying issues be made available for public inspection and that the district provide information on how many teachers have been trained as well as reveal any plans for ongoing certification of school personnel. 

The third proposal offered by Kelly Fussman of Hendersonville suggests a revision of the district’s anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies to include the categories “gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation” in their enumerated classes to improve protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students or those who are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

The Tennessee Equality Project provided assistance in drafting the proposals and advice in navigating the Sumner County Board of Education’s policy process.
 
The next meeting of the Sumner County Board of Education is March 27.


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