Missouri may pass pro-bullying law

Missouri might currently be among the few places in America that hasn't instituted a pro-bullying "no pass, no drive" law, but that may be changing under a rightist bipartisan proposal.

This policy was thrown out by a Kentucky court for (among other things) violating a federal law barring schools from releasing academic records. (Of course, this didn't stop Kentucky lawmakers from passing it again.) Just as bad though is the fact that (like probably all other states that have this law) the Missouri plan doesn't revoke the licenses of school bullies.

Gee, isn't it nice to know the Show Me State might join other states in giving special rights to serial bullies? At least the Governor of West Virginia proposed revoking school harassers' licenses, which would end the special privileges bullies get. I know of no such effort in Missouri or any other state.

America has a nationwide school harassment pandemic. I believe firmly that "no pass, no drive" - which punishes poor academic performance but not bullying - is the cause of some of it. Is it just my imagination, or did school violence get a whole lot worse after "no pass, no drive" became common? I think this law gave serial harassers the message that crime pays, and their victims are the ones who end up being punished. (Most bullies used their clout to get good grades, and thus were not penalized under this law.)

Every time a "no pass, no drive" law passed, the harassers were rubbing their hands together in excitement at how their victims who were distracted from their schoolwork were going to be the ones punished. I guarantee it.

If a state has "no pass, no drive", the very least the state can do is revoke bullies' licenses too. This is a reasonable request, but most states won't even consider it.

(Source: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/61E408F75AC06D3A862573FC001668F9?OpenDocument)