Bobbie Bean decided to run for the office of U.S. Senate after he became acutely aware of systemic problems within the US educational, judicial, and law enforcement systems. That awareness prompted him to join a coalition of concerned parents and legislators and lobby for change at the state and federal level, which resulted in new laws to protect the social and civil rights of children in Florida’s schools. Over the span of 3 years he visited the Florida Senate and House of Representatives at least 8 times to highlight the need for safer schools. The Jeffrey Johnson Stand Up for All Students Act (HB #575) eventually passed unanimously on both floors in April, 2008.
Mr. Bean has been outspoken in public forums in an effort to raise awareness about public education, the need for safer schools, and the challenges of dealing with public school districts that violate civil rights and inappropriately handle situations. His own personal story reflects the degree to which a large, powerful school district can snuff out the basic Constitutional rights of the very individuals who are financing its existence.
The Bean's had used the same means of egress to their property for years, as designated by their deed. One day the access point was blocked off by a neighbor who constructed a makeshift fence at the entrance. Cutting the fence resulted in Mr. Bean's arrest by the Sheriff's Department.
On Sept. 3, 2002, Mr. Bean sent his eldest son off on the school bus to one of his first days in eighth grade. On that day, Bobbie Jr. was viciously bullied by a perpetrator for nearly three hours – first on the bus, then on school district property. He was accosted on three separate occasions despite the fact that the school was aware that he had been sucker punched by the perpetrator, a well-known bully, on the bus. By the time he was flight-lifted to a hospital trauma unit, Bobbie Jr.’s life was in jeopardy. The incident resulted in emotional and physical trauma for young Bobbie, who never returned to the public school system. The perpetrator was removed from school for a week and eventually promoted to head of the wrestling team.
What was most disturbing to the Beans was the way the school district and the Highlands Country Sheriff’s office handled the situation: A cover-up snowballed into retaliation against the Bean family. Because of the political connections and power the school district wielded over county agencies, including the Chamber of Commerce, his printing business suffered. Then, after a series of unusual incidents that appeared to be retaliatory, he experienced a bogus arrest by the Sheriff’s Department for an old law that made it illegal to cut a fence.
The fence suddenly appeared one day: It was strewn across a right-of-way the Beans had been using as a driveway for years and was designated as part of their deed. When Mr. Bean cut the fence to allow his wife and mother-in-law to pass through with the car full of groceries, he was arrested. Six Sheriff’s Department cars with a K-9 unit roared into his driveway at nearly midnight, a gun was held to his head, and he was hauled off to the station to be booked on an offense that required a mere $120 bail – the same amount as for selling fish and frogs without a permit in Florida. The arrest, which took place in front of his wife and children, became a costly and difficult experience for the Beans because they were told he had committed an offense punishable by a year in jail. They then sold a portion of their land to pay the bogus, but exorbitant, legal bills associated with the arrest.
The injustice and absurdity of their treatment after their son was bullied ran counter to everything Bobbie believed was his right to pursue as part of the American Dream. Therefore, justice, accountability, and reform are key components in his platform.
You can read more about the Bean Family story in an upcoming book, to be published in 2010.
