School gay rules must include understanding

Now that summer is here, state school officials have bought some breathing room in their effort to come up with a policy governing harassment of gay and lesbian students.

The rule should have already been in place. Six months have passed since the school board adopted a policy specifically aimed at prohibiting harassment of gay and lesbian students. That is more than enough time to come up with what, after all, are commonsense rules and regulations.

But since additional time has been bought, it should be put to good use. A plain vanilla policy prohibiting the harassment of homosexual students will help, but it won't cure the problem.

Harassment of all kinds occurs in schools, and it is a constant battle to educate young people both on why it is wrong and why they feel compelled to pick on fellow students. That calls for some education on tolerance.

When fall comes around, students going back to school should find in place not only a clear-cut policy prohibiting the bullying of gay and lesbian students, but also a plan that explains in plain language why tolerance is expected for all.