Imagine being a student at a school where bullying is not just ignored by educators but implicitly encouraged by district leaders and state politicians. Welcome to Owasso High School in Oklahoma. As one student said about bullying at the school, “…there’s no point in going to any kind of administration or teachers about it because absolutely nothing will be done.”

The culture at Owasso High where student Nex Benedict died following a bullying-related altercation after a year of being targeted clearly needs to change. One place to start is with the bullying prevention policies, which currently follow the same ineffective cookie-cutter approach found in so many schools across the country: assembly to communicate policy, reporting form, and designated investigator.

Unfortunately, the biggest hurdle may be the politicians and other leaders in Oklahoma who foment contempt for 2SLGBTQIA+ students, such as Republican State Senator Tom Woods, who recently referred to the entire community as “filth.” The conservatives who are starting down this path of dehumanizing children in order to make their abuse and the elimination of their rights palatable to their constituents have to be stopped. No one who cares about children should give these politicians support. While my bullying prevention work is strictly apolitical, countering contempt is a cornerstone of bullying prevention. I hope the bullied students who are unable to get effective support from the educators charged with keeping them safe and other adults in the community can persevere through this.