020416

Chair Doherty, members of the Committee, my name is Gordon Clay and I am from Brookings, Oregon.

There was as young promising thespian acquaintance of mine by the name of Dorothy Schull several years ago. She came out as bisexual in her junior year and was constantly bullied for it. She committed suicide on _____. We placed a granite head stone in the lawn of the high school in front of a "buddy bench" in her memory.

June ____ 10 students and parents from the JV and high school girl's basketball teams tried to speak about being bullied by their coaches at the regular school board meeting. The board stopped the process and ODE was brought in. A 26 page report of "facts" was prepared. Another six months went by. They wore the complainants down and they gave in. Not one person or group in the 26 page report took responsibility for their actions. And the complainants aren't allowed to talk about it.

Additionally, I have heard about multiple other issues regarding bullying and harassment from students and parents in my district. I have even personally filed complaints with the district. I've filed appeals with the superintendent and the school board, as the school board policy indicates. Nothing has ever happened. In some cases I've received no response.

Then I appealed to the Oregon Department of Education, and I was informed that ODE's hands were tied and there was nothing they could do. This bill will fix that problem and give an outlet to aggrieved students and parents, so that an independent, unbiased examination can occur.

No blood no foul

I have grown frustrated with my local district and school board because of their responses to some of these incidents. I know five professional families who have chosen to leave the district rather than put their kids through it anymore. Last year one family with an IEP child came home with a brand new pair of pants torn. He was shoved into a locker. When the parent's talked with the school, he was asked "Was there any blood." He replied no and the response back was "No blood no foul."

It is one thing to have a policy. Brookings was awarded a gold star for their policy. However, there doesn't seem to be any consequences if the school ignores the policies and throw up roadblocks rather than acting immediately to protect students.

You can have all of the policies in the world and they mean nothing if schools aren't held responsible to follow them and accountable for the outcomes. This needs to change and I'm hopeful that this bill will create necessary oversight to ensure all students are safe at school.

I hope that you will all vote yes on this bill.

I thank you for your time.

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Gordon Clay
Brookings, Oregon

Testifies 9/2/16 for the House Education Committee in Salem - 19:11 starts at 2:28:50 (See the last agenda item)