BISMARCK - Sen. Linda Christenson, D-Grand Forks, pleaded with lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday not to adopt an amendment to a bill she introduced to promote respectful conduct in schools and reduce discrimination.

HB2216 would require school districts to have a policy in place that requires teachers and students to respect individuals regardless of their "age, color, economic status, gender, intellectual ability, physical ability, race, religion or sexual orientation."

School districts also would be required to implement a process where individuals can file a discrimination complaint.

The amendment in question would require school districts to create a due process for students who have complaints against other students or staff. But it deleted the portion of the bill specifying the requirement of respectful conduct toward a diverse student body.

"(The amendment) takes the heart and soul out of the bill," she said Thursday on the Senate floor.

The Senate voted to adopt the amendment after her speech, and then passed the amended bill with a vote of 27-20. It now goes to the House for a hearing and vote.

Christenson said she introduced the bill to prevent "deliberate humiliating harassment" to students because of their differences.

"This isn't about political correctness," she said. "This is about human ethical behaviors."

"There are children who do not want to get up in the morning and go to school because their environment is so humiliating."

Christenson told lawmakers the stories of a young gay man in a small North Dakota town who has had suicidal thoughts because he was not accepted at school, and of a mother who had to remove her autistic son from school because of the way he was treated.

The bill also would prevent lawsuits with an astronomical amount of money once schools have a due process procedure in place, she said.

The bill had been heard by the Senate Education Committee.

Sen. Tim Flakoll, R-Fargo, who described the amendment to the floor, said half of North Dakota schools already have such a process in place. Federal laws also address the issue, he said.

The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. April Fairfield, D-Eldridge; and Grand Forks Democratic Reps. Lois Delmore and Lonny Winrich.

This article is posted with the permission of the Grand Forks Herald.