Posted: | January 22, 2013 04:09 PM |
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From: | Representative Tim Briggs |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Request for Co-Sponsorship: Anti-Bullying legislation |
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation (HB 1805 from last session) that will amend the Public School Code in order to supplement the current policy related to bullying in our public schools. This legislation would expand the current bullying policy to apply to actions such as harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyber-bullying. Furthermore, it delineates specific actions that must be taken by school entities to ensure the school entity’s harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyber-bullying policy offers considerable notice, opportunities to report incidents, remedies for victims and training in harassment and bullying prevention for those responsible for students. Specifically, the proposed legislation establishes an additional section that promulgates the expected requirements and responsibilities to be taken by the Department of Education regarding harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyber-bullying in our children’s schools. This new section requires the Department to routinely review each school entity’s policy or program regarding harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyber-bullying. Further, the Department is expected to collect and interpret data regarding harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyber-bullying incidents throughout the Commonwealth. The report must be shared with the General Assembly as a means to identify and address issues facing our students. |
Introduced as HB914