Lawsuit in Sherwood

A Sherwood family is suing the Sherwood School District for the repair of their son's teeth and emotional damages.

March 25th, 2009, the Oregon House approved bill 2599 with a 50-9 vote. The bill states that schools are required to establish clear, uniform policies to combat bullying and to appoint specific individuals to investigate. Representative Kim Thatcher, a Republican, was a proponent of the bill. The bill included the language that harrassment or bulling involved anything that effects the "psychological well-being" of the student.

My friends at Basic Rights Oregon, (BRO), were supporters of the bill.

What came from the bill, after being "cleaned up" in the senate and signed by Oregon Governor, Ted Kulongoski was this amendment to the existing law:

The amendment defines “harassment, intimidation or bullying” as an act that

(a) Substantially interferes with a student's educational benefits, opportunities or performance; that
(b) Takes place on or immediately adjacent to school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, on school-provided transportation or at any official school bus stop, and that
(c) Has the effect of:
A. Physically harming a student or damaging a student's property;
B. Knowingly placing a student in reasonable fear of physical harm to the student or
damage to the student's property; or
C. Creating a hostile educational environment, including interfering with the
psychological well-being of a student; and
d. May be based on, but not be limited to, the protected class status of a person.


The amendment requires each school district to adopt a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying and prohibiting cyberbullying. A procedure that is uniform throughout the school district for prompt investigation of a report of an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying or an act of cyberbullying,a procedure by which a person may request a school district to review the actions of a school in responding to a report of an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying or an act of cyberbullying or investigating such a report.

I applaud the effort, I look for the reliability of the school districts ability to do so with out the staff necessary. I don't think another administrator is the answer. I think smaller class sizes and more prep time to talk to students and identify their obstacles to learning is the answer. Allowing the teacher force to not be hobbled by budget cuts is the way to get to the bottom of this.
The Sherwood family is educating the state on the outcomes of bullying. I hope we take note and put our priorities on teachers, not on increasing administrator overhead.