Unfortunately, the GOP majority in the House today officially killed the Schools Are For Education (SAFE) anti-bullying bill. The bill would establish a system for all school districts to set up an anti-bullying policy that fits their community’s needs.

This bill has had one of the most interesting journeys through the legislature. It had been pronounced dead several times in the Senate, only to pass with bipartisan support. However, upon coming to the House it received a much colder reception.

The bill was stalled in committee, however Rep. Edie McClafferty (D-Butte) today sought to blast the bill from committee for a full floor debate. During her speech on the measure she explained the importance of students feeling safe in their schools and how that directly impacted their academic performance. Proponents of the measure also reminded members of the House that they recently passed a measure that would protect hunters from cyber-bullying.

Unfortunately, the bill died with very little Republican support. Montana will remain one of 4 states in the nation that does not have a policy to combat bullying in their schools.

The GOP plan to drastically re-engineer Montana’s public education system appears to be dead. After receiving initial approval from the Senate yesterday, the bill failed on a 25-25 vote in the body today.

The bill sought to radically change the way our public education system works. Opponents of the bill argued that the bill would unnecessarily complicate our public education system and possibly set teachers and students up for failure.

In addition, many believed the measure would have raised taxes on some Montanans in order to pay for holes in their funding scheme.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jones, was concocted in the dark of night, with no input from Democrats and many Republicans were left in the dark as well. This was highlighted when some Republicans came to Democratic education experts to ask what was in the bill.

While they maintain the education funding debate will continue, the failure of this bill leaves the Republican majority in a tight spot. They now appear to have to concrete plan to fund our schools, as directed by the state constitution and seem unwilling to work with Democrats to come up with a solution that puts the needs of Montana students ahead of the political desires of a few extremist Republicans.

Sen. Kim Gillan’s, Schools Are For Education (SAFE) anti-bullying bill had a hearing in the House Education Committee.

This bill requires that ever school district have an anti-bullying policy in place to help students, teachers and parents better deal with all forms of bullying in their communities.

This bill is careful to respect local control in establishing a policy in their community. Instead of laying out a strict set of guidelines for the entire state, it provides each community with the freedom to create a policy that matches their needs.

Sen Gillan introduced this bill because she understands that a solid education for our children is key to long-term economic success for our state and if a student is being bullied by his or her classmates he or she is much less likely to graduate.

Many have called this bill, “The Little Bill That Could.” This is because, unlike many bills this session, this bill has managed to persevere and continue moving through the legislative process. It has been sidelined in both committee and on the floor of the Senate, however due to hard-work by Sen. Gillian, Superintendent Juneau  and Attorney General Bullock, this bill has managed to continue to come closer to being signed into law.

If this bill passes through the House Education Committee, it will go to the Governor for final approval.