The Safe Schools Call to Action

The following announcement is from the board of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR).

Dear Friends of CCCR:

Are you . . .

• A parent whose child is being bullied?

• An educator who wants tools and resources for bullying prevention and intervention so that all students can learn and thrive at school?

• A student who wants support to stand up for other students or for yourself?

• A community member invested in the well-being of every child who wants students to thrive in school and develop the skills they need to be successful adults?

Then join us on Sunday, December 8, for the Safe Schools Call to Action at South High School, 3131 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis.

Registration opens at 1:30 p.m. and the program runs from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Following the program, you can join us for a Q&A with our partners in the Safe Schools Coalition until 4 p.m.

You will learn more about the Safe & Supportive Minnesota Schools Act, a comprehensive anti-bullying bill, based on the best research to date on solutions to bullying.

CCCR is asking this question: So why is the Minnesota Catholic Conference of Bishops one of the biggest opponents to this bill when the bill already exempts private schools?

They say that if the bill becomes law Catholics in the public schools might be accused of bullying when expressing their beliefs about homosexuality. But bullying is defined as negative, aggressive, repeated behavior--not the same as sharing one's beliefs.

Do you think the reason given for opposing the bill outweighs the suffering and violence of bullying to kids beginning to discover their sexual identity? And what about those students being bullied because of race, ethnicity, economic status, disabilities, and other characteristics enumerated in the bill? Passing this bill will protect all students.

We do not think any kind of bullying is Church-sanctioned behavior, and we do think that the Catholic Church should support the State of Minnesota's effort to protect students from bullying and harassment. Join us in trying to get this bill passed.

For more information, please go to OutFront.org.

We look forward to seeing you on December 8.