care of the culture of that classroom and build a culture of respect. candi, very briefly, i want to give you the final thought. well, what we re concerned about are the parents that we re getting phone calls from that don t want controversial sexual topics introduced to their kids without their permission, especially at the kindergarten level. and that s why we wanted to say that this issue doesn t need to be politicized. we don t need to bring adult political agendas into it. we want all kids to be protected from bullying for any reason, regardless of how they identify. candi cushman, i appreciate you being on. eliza byard as well and rosalind wiseman. obviously the issue of bullying is not going away. we re doing a lot more of it in the days ahead 37. hurricane earl. chad myers has the latest update from the hurricane center. also tonight 33 miners trapped. from hot meals to mp3 players their life has changed a lot underground in just the last few days. we ll show you a new
effective policies and initiatives would be ones that protect any child against bullying for any reason. what does that mean? specifically, how do you do that? the correct focus would be preventing the wrong actions of the bully, not focusing on the characteristics of the victims. because it doesn t matter why the victim was targeted. what matters is that their harm harming them was wrong for any reason. okay. eliza, your group has been accused by focus on the family of spreading what they call a gay agenda in schools. why do you need to talk about or mention gays and lesbians in anti-bullying efforts? well, candi and i absolutely agree that all students need to be protected. the fact is, and the data bears out, if you don t mention the specific problem, teachers don t act and students don t have a better experience. our bill would cover all students but indicate specifically that you must also include attention to these characteristics. and when you do, our data shows
right now, there s legislation making its way through congress, safe schools improvement act, defining bullying of conduct placing students in reasonable fear of physical harm, conduct based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. all standard characteristics for civil rights legislation. but a conservative group, focus on the family, is objecting to the bill saying that gay activists are using the bullying issue to push their agenda in the schools. joining us is candi cushman of focus on the family, eliza byard executive director of the gay lesbian and straight educational network, and roslyn wiseman. she works with schools across the country on bullying issues. she s also the author of queen bees and wannabes: helping your daughter survive cliques, gossip, boyfriends, and the new in realities of the girl world. appreciate you all being with us. candi, you say the gay groups are using anti-bullying efforts to push what you say is a gay ag