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Ed board OKs LIHUE -- State schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu wants to turn to "the work of making it real" following the Board of Education's adoption of a rule against the harassment of students that includes gay and lesbians.
rule on student
harassment
'Sexual orientation' is included
among race, religion and disability
as a protected characteristicKauai teachers urge contract settlement
By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin"We need to follow through," LeMahieu said. "There's at least a number of actions I can think of."
His statements came after the board last night voted 8-3, with two abstentions, to approve adding to Chapter 19 administrative rules on student misconduct a section that prohibits harassment based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
The board met at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School in Kauai's county seat.
With signs such as "Treat All Kids with Love and Respect," "Pass Chapter 19" and "Take a Stand Against Harassment" in the background, testimony against and in support of the rules focused on the inclusion of "sexual orientation" as a protected class.
Support for the rules came from those who said "sexual orientation" should be included because gay and lesbian students are targets of harassment.
"One indication of a good democracy is that it protects the minorities from the majority," said Frank Dicapua of Kauai.
Those against the inclusion of "sexual orientation" argued that all students should be protected from harassment and that a select group of students should not be given special rights. Critics of the rule also said the rules open the door to the teaching of homosexuality in the public schools.
"I oppose any teaching of this lifestyle to my children," Ramon Garza told the board. "We need to keep all our students safe, not just a few."
LeMahieu urged the board to vote in favor of approving the rules with the lists of protected categories including sexual orientation. He said the rules would give the Department of Education the tools needed to protect those who are most at risk of being harassed.
"It focuses our attention on those whose situations are most fragile. Sad to say, there are some who don't even appreciate that the harassing treatment of these folks constitutes any wrongdoing," LeMahieu said. "We now say this is a group of individuals very much at risk unless we recognize them and assert our respect, and we've done that, and we should be proud of ourselves."
LeMahieu said reports of teachers and school administrators condoning or being involved in such harassment shows that even adults in the schools need to be made aware that certain things hurt people. "This (rule) clarifies that it's wrongdoing."
LeMahieu said he would like to convene a group to discuss ways to carry out what the board approved.
"We recognize that adequate address of that policy doesn't stop at just enforcement," LeMahieu said. "It's not just policing, but frankly to reduce the need to police by being more proactive, more educational -- that's what we do."
Putting together more training and literature are examples of the ways to help implement the rules, he said.
Approval of the rules came after board member Denise Matsumoto tried to delete the different protected categories, including sexual orientation. Matsumoto said the move would be a stronger statement of protecting all students and not just those in the different classifications.
The board voted down Matsumoto's amendment by 7-6 with Keith Sakata, seen as the swing vote on the issue, being the tie-breaking vote.
The board was inundated with testimony on the emotionally charged issue with 34 people testifying live and hundreds of written statements on both sides of the issue.
The Board of Education voted yesterday to approve the following rule: How they voted on harass rule
Star-Bulletin staff
"Harassment means a person acts with intent to harass, bully, annoy or alarm if he or she makes verbal or non-verbal expressions for reasons of, including but not limited to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, disability, or sexual orientation which create an intimidating, hostile or offensive school environment, or interfere with the education of a student, or otherwise adversely affect the educational opportunity of a student."
Here's how BOE members voted:
Yes: Mitsugi Nakashima, Karen Knudsen, Herbert Watanabe, Garrett Toguchi, Michael Nakamura, Shannon Ajifu, Winston Sakurai and Keith Sakata.
No: Ron Nakano, Meyer Ueoka and Lex Brodie.
Abstain: Denise Matsumoto and Noemi Pendleton.
LIHUE -- Dozens of public school teachers and their supporters lined Kaumualii Highway in front of Chieftess Kamakahelei Middle School, the site of yesterday's Board of Education meeting, to drum up support for a new teachers' contract. Kauai teachers urge
contract settlementBy Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin"Hawaii's teachers want your help," Robert Kauilani Gilmore, Kauai chapter president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, testified before the board. "We are asking you and the superintendent of schools to exert your influence as members of the state's bargaining team to get the state to settle the teachers' contract."
The demonstrators, donning blue HSTA T-shirts and carrying signs with slogans such as "Honk for Education," brought their message from the streets into the meeting.
The state has offered the teachers a 9 percent raise over four years, but teachers say that's not enough to attract and keep good teachers in Hawaii.
"A token few percent raise will not do. Please don't offer it as we will this time reject it," Andrew Snow, Kauai High School science teacher, testified. "It is time to make an offer that seriously addresses the pay problems here. Find the money now or the state will pay doubly later when we all pay the hidden costs of an undereducated populace."
The board recently passed a resolution supporting a pay raise for teachers who have been without a new contract for over a year.