SALT LAKE CITY — Some lawmakers are considering whether to require the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) to undergo anti-bullying training due to the behavior of Natalie Cline earlier this year.
Cline was stripped of her USBE duties and censured by the Utah State Legislature due to a Facebook post in which she implied a girls' basketball player was transgender.
She was wrong.
“She’s not remorseful,” said House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper. “She does feel like she’s the victim, and it’s sad.”
“I think she should resign,” said Governor Spencer Cox.
Cline will not be on the ballot in November. She lost her bid for reelection.
As the USBE prepares for a change, some lawmakers are now focused on preventing bad behavior in the future.
Records obtained by FOX 13 News show it takes a lot more training to serve as a teacher than as an elected member of the USBE.
“Absolutely,” said USBE Member Carol Lear. “Some of the behavior that you see by board members would have definitely cost them their teaching jobs.”
State lawmakers also receive more training than the USBE.
“The only training required (for USBE) by state code is an annual training on the Open and Public Meetings Act,” said Kelsey James, the communications coordinator for USBE.
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, said it’s time to consider whether that needs to change.
She said she was especially horrified by Cline’s behavior upon learning the victim lives in her district.
“The (basketball) team was afraid to go to their next game because they thought a lot of Natalie’s followers would be there,” said Spackman Moss. “Can you imagine your child being at their high school and having security? Having to have security at school? What a humiliation.”
Spackman Moss said she wants the USBE to receive training related to student privacy and bullying, making it absolutely clear that “any kind of harassment or humiliation or comments about students is completely out of bounds.”
The board says it has “learning opportunities” throughout the year, which are not mandatory.
In theory, members of the USBE could take a vote to require themselves to undergo more training. So far, they have not agreed to do so.
"Ideally? They should do it themselves,” Spackman Moss said. “If they refuse to? Then the Legislature maybe needs to step in... Everybody who’s in a position of trust over students ought to have training. Even if it seems like, ‘Oh, everyone should know that.’ Yes, you treat people with civility. You just remind them. I think there should be penalties.”
According to Lear, more training is often a good idea in principle. Still, she doesn’t think more training is the answer in this case.
“The behavior that prompted that whole (Natalie Cline) firestorm is, I think, more a matter of civility and respect for human beings,” Lear said. “I don’t think you can train that into people.”
Sen. David Hinkins, R-Ferron, said he would agree with the USBE receiving the same training as the Legislature.
“Who would have thought we needed to have sexual harassment training?” said Spackman Moss. “But we do have it, and it’s a good thing.”
Lear said she doesn’t believe the Legislature’s training has done enough to stop bullying.
“You can see examples of bad behavior in the Legislature, both bullying and inappropriate behavior,” Lear said. “In the teaching profession, we need to do a better job of developing good training. I’ve seen good training. I’ve seen really useless training.”
FOX 13 News reached out to Cline for comment, but she did not respond. She is still allowed to attend USBE meetings as she finishes out her term.