SPOKANE, Wash.—It is a question many parents in the Inland Northwest and across the country were talking about: should schools be required to notify parents if their child is being bullied?
The discussion stemmed from an article from the Associated Press. It told the story of Jacobe Taras in New York, who took his own life at the age of 12 after being bullied. His parents said the school did not pass along the information they had, and they are now fighting for a law in New York that would require schools to alert parents hen their children are being bullied.
Washington and Idaho are not among the eight states that currently require parental notification of bullying. Since there is no statewide standard, individual school districts end up setting their own policies in this regard.
KREM 2 reached out to Spokane Public Schools and the Coeur d'Alene School District officials to find out what their protocols were. Both districts’ officials said they have a policy of notifying parents when their child is caught up in bullying.
This echoed what many viewers said us on Facebook. The initial post on the subject racked up hundreds of comments, and reactions, with the vast majority said that schools should be required to notify parents.
One of the more common objections to automatic parental notification regards LGBT students. The worry was that notifying parents of bullying in these circumstances could inadvertently out a child, and cause even more stress and anxiety for them.
Student Services Coordinator for Spokane Public Schools Chris Moore said this concern was on the district's radar.
Moore said in these circumstances, counselors would have a conversation with the student beforehand to learn what the situation is at home, and may not bring up sexual orientation or gender identify if this would cause the student more pain. However, she said the parents would still be notified that bullying was taking place.