House committee passes anti-bullying bill

A House committee approved anti-bullying legislation Monday, moving it one step closer to final passage following Senate committee approval last week.

The House version of the bill was approved 19-4 and would include $150,000 for training programs and $50,000 to fund a student mentorship pilot program.

The Senate version does not include that funding in the bill itself. It would have to move separately through the Appropriations Committee, which creates some risk that the bill would pass but the money would not.

Rep. Quentin Stanerson, R-Center Point, said he thought the funding was an important piece of the bill.

"We didn't want it to be seen as an unfunded mandate," he said.

However, Tedd Gassman, R-Scarville, said the added funding strikes him as "completely out of the question." He voted against the bill.

Stanerson said everything else about the two versions of the bill will line up, but the House and Senate will need to come to an agreement about funding when the issue comes up for floor debate.

The legislation, which has been a priority for Gov. Terry Branstad, would make it easier for school officials to address incidents of bullying that happen off school grounds or over the Internet.

According to a recent Iowa Poll, 73 percent of Iowans say they support anti-bullying legislation and 23 percent say they are opposed to it.

Gassman said he plans to vote against the legislation on the House floor.

"I've talked to every administrator in my district about this one way or another one time or another, and I've not found one that thinks they need more legislation, more rules or more regulation to control bullying," he said.