Broader harassment policy approved

Benjamin Grove

Friday, April 10, 1998 | 10:18 a.m.

A majority of Clark County School Board members said the broadly worded harassment policy they approved Thursday will protect all students and staff, but some called it too loosely worded to be effective.

"If teachers see something and they don't feel like it's harassment, then nothing happens," said Cheyenne High School freshman Aurora Montgomery, who said teachers often look the other way when she is harassed because of her sexual orientation.

The school board's action follows about four months of carefully crafting a new harassment policy, which some district officials said was necessary to clearly define harassment and who is protected. Controversy developed over whether to broadly protect all district students and employees or to name certain groups, such as gays and lesbians, and people in ethnic or religious minorities.

Throughout the debate, several conservative groups, including Nevada Concerned Citizens, argued for the more general wording, saying the policy should be all-inclusive.

Gay and lesbian advocates and the members of the American Civil Liberties Union argued to list specific groups. They said administrators needed specific guidelines to enforce the policy.

"There are 210 principals in Clark County -- can we expect a uniform application of the policy if there are no guidelines to go by?" gay advocate Lee Plotkin asked after the meeting.

Others agreed.

"When the first student commits suicide or is driven out of school because of harassment because there was a lack of guidance provided to administrators -- shame on all of you," local ACLU director Gary Peck told the board.

About 30 people spoke on the issue, half of whom favored the broadly worded policy.

The father of a fifth-grade boy who gets picked on at school because he is smaller than his classmates said the policy needed to be broad enough to include students like his 11-year-old son.

"They call it teasing, I call it harassment," Craig Jensen said. "Students don't know the difference."

The board voted 4-2 to approve the policy, with Shirley Barber and Larry Mason dissenting. Barber, who is African-American, and Mason, who is Hispanic, are the only two ethnic minorities on the board.

"I appreciate the diversity on the board and I appreciate the diversity out in the community," board member Ruth Johnson said. "I do accept that there are traditionally targeted groups. I prefer the language that protects everybody equally."

Barber said teachers and principals would be more responsive to a specific policy.

"We have teachers and administrators who need some sensitivity training," Barber said. "Let's be real here. I don't play games when it comes to kids."

Several speakers agreed with school district lawyer Bill Hoffman, who said the most important issue was how the policy would be enforced.

Board members said administrators, including principals, would be responsible for implementing the policy. That includes making sure teachers understand and enforce it. Board members also voted to create a videotape on the policy to use in schools.

"We need to be specific and make sure employees and students are aware of all parts of our policy," board member Mary Beth Scow said.