The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression
State Laws
How do States adapt the Federal requirements under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools provision described above? Many States have taken legislative action to stop bullying, harassment, and hate crimes. Most of the legislative responses require the State's Department of Education, school districts, and school boards to develop policies and procedures to prevent bullying. ref Most of the State laws cover bullying that occurs on school grounds and at school-sponsored activities.
Unfortunately, there is no national mandated and uniform school crime reporting to help schools assess issues and concerns. Only a little more than a dozen states now require crime reporting in grades K-12. One of the reasons that national legislation hasn't been developed is that educators don't like to report problems and deficiencies that may exist on their campuses. ref
The National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a list of State actions that relate to bullying, harassment, and hate crimes. States that have passed formal laws on bullying include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. For more information, contact the
National Conference of State Legislatures or www.bullypolice.org/links.html. Some State efforts are highlighted below.
Colorado
The Colorado Bullying Prevention Act, passed in 2001, gives school districts new powers to create safe schools. Each school district's Board of Education is required to adopt a mission statement making safety a priority for each public school. ref In addition, the law requires each school to submit annual reports on its bullying prevention programs to the Colorado Department of Education. This information also must be made available to the public.
Each school must have a concise school safety plan and a conduct and discipline code that must be administered fairly, uniformly, and consistently for all students. For further information, go to www.no-bully.com.
Connecticut
Under Connecticut law, local and regional Boards of Education must develop a bullying prevention policy that:
- Enables students to anonymously report acts of bullying to teachers and administrators.
- Enables the parents or guardians to file written reports of suspected bullying.
- Requires teachers and all other school personnel who witness or receive student accounts of bullying to report to school administrators.
- Requires school administrators to investigate all written reports.
- Enacts an intervention strategy.
- Includes language about bullying in the student code of conduct.
- Requires schools to inform the public about bullying incidents.
For more information, go to the State Education Agency.
Georgia
Georgia requires comprehensive "character education" programs in each local school district.
In addition, local school boards must adopt policies applicable to students in grades 6-12 that specifically prohibit bullying. Students who accumulate three bullying reports are moved to an alternative school.
Further information can be found at www.georgia.gov or http://www.legis.state.ga.us.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire law reinforces a student's right to attend public schools that are safe, secure, and peaceful. School boards in the State must have a safety and violence prevention policy. Other provisions require that:
- School employees or employees contracted with the school must report to the principal any bullying incidents that are witnessed or alleged based on reliable information. The school principal is required to report these incidents to the superintendent.
- Each local school board must devise its own remedy to acts of bullying or intimidation. The school boards also can provide educational opportunities and training for educators to respond to bullying incidents.
Further information can be found at www.ed.state.nh.us.
New Jersey
New Jersey law mandates school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying on school property, at school-sponsored functions, and on school buses. In drafting its policy, the school district is encouraged to solicit input from all relevant stakeholders including parents, community leaders, school employees, students, and administrators.
Among the minimum requirements, the school policy must include:
- A statement prohibiting the aforementioned acts
- A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying
- A description of the type of behavior expected from each student
- Consequences and appropriate action for any person committing an act of harassment or bullying
- A procedure for reporting any bullying act, with the option of reporting anonymously
- A procedure for investigation of all reports by the principal or other designated official
- A statement that prohibits any retaliation against any person who reports an incident of bullying
For further information, go to www.state.nj.us/education.
Oklahoma
The State of Oklahoma's Bullying Prevention Act is similar to New Jersey's, with the following differences:
- The State Board of Education should not have authority to prescribe disciplinary policies for school districts or to proscribe corporeal punishment in the public schools. This policy exempts those students who have individualized education plans (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- Each local school board has the option of mandating a dress code, which may include school uniforms.
- Every public school should establish a Safe School Committee, composed of at least six members and equal numbers of teachers, parents, and students.
- The State Board of Education will provide each school district with a list of research-based programs appropriate for the prevention of harassment, intimidation, and bullying. If a school district chooses to implement a prevention program, the program must be on the list provided by the State Board of Education.
For more information, got to http://sde.state.ok.us. You may also view a sample Bullying Incident Report form.
Oregon
The State of Oregon followed the example of other States and included the same provisions for the local school districts and school administrators as mentioned above. Oregon added a provision encouraging, though not mandating, that each school district form task forces, programs, or other initiative on harassment, intimidation, and/or bullying. The provisions recommend involving school employees, students, administrators, volunteers, parents, guardians, law enforcement, and community representatives in these efforts.
For further information, go to www.ode.state.or.us.
Washington
Washington State adopted similar requirements to those mentioned above. The State also requires compulsory coursework that examines cultivating the importance of manners as well as temperance and good citizenship.
The State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) must develop and provide all local school districts a model policy, instead of allowing each school district to create its own policy. In addition, the OSPI must develop training materials to be disseminated across the State. The OSPI's Web site must have a link to the Safety Center Web page, where all training materials as well as the model policy will be posted.
Each school district must report to the superintendent (by January 31st of each year) all incidents that involving bullying and resulted in a short- or long-term suspension or expulsion for the preceding year.
For more information, go to www.k12.wa.us.
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Last Updated: 5/19/04
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