BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's lawmakers disagree over how to craft a new ban on bullying at public schools.
Two different proposals advanced Wednesday in the House, one by Baton Rouge Rep. Patricia Smith getting 71-16 backing on the House floor and another by Port Allen Sen. Rick Ward getting passage from the House Education Committee.
The two measures differ on whether to get the state education department involved in describing best practices for preventing bullying and harassment, with Smith proposing the department's involvement and Ward leaving most of the decision-making and policy-crafting to local school boards.
Also at issue is the type of training required of teachers and school employees.