Vermont Governor Signs Anti-Harassment Law
School Must Update Harassment Policies
POSTED: 12:26 p.m. EDT April 16, 2004
UPDATED: 12:36 p.m. EDT April 16, 2004
MONTPELIER, VT. -- With a scratch of his pen, Gov. Jim Douglas signed a
new law Wednesday that tackles harassment in Vermont schools.
All schools now have to revisit and update their harassment policies.
Under the new law, every school must have a designated official to
investigate and follow up on complaints.
The law comes too late for Ryan Halligan, 13, an eighth-grader who killed
himself after kids at school said he was gay. Halligan's parents said
there should have been a better program in place to stop the harassment.
The Halligans lobbied to change the law to make sure harassment isn't
tolerated at school.
"Schools have a duty to students to ensure they have safe learning
environments," said Robert Appel of the Vermont Human Rights Committee.
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