Anti-bullying legislation

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Anti-bullying legislation is legislation enacted nationally or by a sub-national jurisdiction to
help reduce and end bullying against students.

Contents

1 Canada
2 Philippines
3 United States
o 3.1 History
o 3.2 Controversy
o 3.3 LGBTQ bullying
o 3.4 Cyberbullying
4 See also
5 References

Canada
The provincial government of Quebec initiated legislation providing for anti-bullying laws, with
the Quebec law having come into effect in 2004.[1] Federal politicians also debated the
groundwork for a national anti-bullying strategy the same year.[2]

Philippines
The Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 was signed into law by President
Benigno Aquino III on September 6, 2013. The law requires all elementary and secondary
schools in the country to adopt an anti-bullying policy. According to a study conducted on 2008
by the Britain-based Plan International, 50 percent of school children in the Philippines
experienced bullying either by their teachers or their peers. [3][4]

United States
History
Forty-nine states in the United States have passed school anti-bullying legislation, the first
being Georgia in 1999. The one state without anti-bullying legislation is Montana. A watchdog
organization called Bully Police USA advocates for and reports on anti-bullying legislation.[5]

North Dakota's legislature passed and Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a bill into law April 22, 2011,
which defines bullying in state law and outlines prevention policies for North Dakota public
schools. North Dakota has been praised for their new law. Prior to its passage, North Dakota did
not have anti-bullying legislation.
Georgia's anti-bullying legislation was strengthened in 2010 with the passage of Senate Bill 250,
which included a provision allowing for those accused of bullying another student to be
reassigned to another school in order to separate the offender from the victim of bullying;[6]
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act is part of the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001. It provides federal support to promote school safety but does not specifically address
bullying and harassment in schools. There are no federal laws dealing directly with school
bullying;[7] however, bullying may trigger responsibilities under one or more of the federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the United States Department of Educations Office for Civil
Rights.[8]
Starting in September 2011, the State of New Jersey will enforce the toughest bullying law in the
country. Each school will have to report each case of bullying to the State, and the State will
grade each school based on bullying standards, policies, and incidents. Each school must have an
effective plan to deal with bullying. All school administrators and teachers are required to deal
with any incidents of bullying reported to them or witnessed by them. Teachers must report any
bullying incidents they witness to the administrators. Bullies risk suspensions to expulsions if
convicted of any type of bullying; from minor teasing for severe cases.
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley who said, "bullying is no more a natural part of learning than is
parental abuse a natural part of growing up" has been a consistent advocate of anti-bullying
legislation..[9]

Controversy
The National School Safety and Security Services questions the motive behind some antibullying legislation. The line between feel-good legislation and meaningful legislation is not
clear at the moment and The National School Safety and Security Services suggests unfunded
state mandates and an overemphasis on any one component of school safety will likely have
minimal impact on school safety and could potentially upset the comprehensive approach to
school safe recommended by most school safety professionals [10]
According to National Safety and Securities Services Anti-bullying legislation, typically an
unfunded mandate requiring schools to have anti-bullying policies but providing no financial
resources to improve school climate and security, offer more political hype than substance for
helping school administrators address the problem. [10]
Gail Garinger, Child Advocate for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, advises legislators not
to push new legislation each time the media highlights a new bullying incident, saying, "Maybe a
new law is needed in your state to deal with a situation, but dont rush to do it. Sit down. Really
talk about what happened." She adds, "I think school officials have gotten really frightened

because of whats been occurring, and its much easier to take a zero-tolerance approach and just
label everything quickly as bullying and pass it on to someone else to deal with, rather than try to
work out a creative solution within the school thats best for everyone involved."[11]

LGBTQ bullying
Main article: Gay bullying

Some states of the United States have implemented laws to address school bullying.
State law that prohibits discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender
identity
State law that prohibits discrimination against students based on sexual orientation only
State law that prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity
State school regulation or ethical code for teachers that address discrimination and/or bullying
of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity
State school regulation or ethical code for teachers that address discrimination and/or bullying
of students based on sexual orientation only
School regulation or ethical code for teachers that address discrimination and/or bullying of
students based on sexual orientation only and also state law forbids school-based instruction of
LGBT rights & issues in a positive manner[neutrality is disputed]
State law that forbids school-based instruction of LGBT rights & issues in a positive
manner[neutrality is disputed]
State law that forbids local school districts from having anti-bullying policies that enumerate
protected classes of students
State law that prohibits bullying in school but lists no categories of protection
No statewide law that specifically prohibits bullying in schools
Anti-bullying legislation received national attention after the suicide of Rutgers University
student Tyler Clementi. In the wake of the incident, New Jersey strengthened its anti-bullying
legislation by passing a bill called The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. [12] Garden State Equality

Chairman Steve Goldstein called New Jersey's bill the "toughest" anti-bullying law in the
country. The bill states administrators who do not investigate reports of bullying can be
disciplined.[13]
Various organizations provide resources and support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and
questioning youth. These organizations include The Trevor Project, The Tyler Clementi
Foundation, It Gets Better Project, and The Matthew Shepard Foundation.[14]

Cyberbullying
Main article: Cyberbullying
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 20 percent of children age 11-18 have
been victims of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as willful and repeated harm inflicted
through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. [15] Cyberbullying
occurs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.[16]
In August 2008, the California State Legislature passed a law directly related with cyberbullying. The legislation gives school administrators the authority to discipline students for
bullying others offline or online.[17]
Many states already have existing criminal and civil remedies to deal with cyberbullying.
Extreme cases would fall under criminal harassment or stalking laws or a target could pursue
civil action for intentional infliction of emotional distress or defamation, to name a few. Bullying
that occurs at school is no doubt already subject to an existing bullying policy. To be sure,
schools should bring their bullying and harassment policies into the 21st Century by explicitly
identifying cyberbullying as a proscribed behavior, but they need to move beyond the behaviors
that occur on school grounds or those that utilize school-owned resources. But in order to do this
they need guidance from their state legislators and Departments of Education so that they draft a
policy and procedure that will be held up in court.[18]
In the summer of 2011, Public Act 11-232 made significant changes to the state of Connecticut
statute which defines bullying as the following: (A) The repeated use by one or more students of
a written, oral or electronic communication, such as cyber bullying, directed at or referring to
another student attending school in the same school district, or (B) a physical act or gesture by
one or more students repeatedly directed at another student attending school in the same school
district, that (i) causes physical or emotional harm to himself or herself, or of damage to his or
her property, (ii) places such student in reasonable fear of harm to himself or herself, or of
damage to his or her property, (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for such student, (iv)
infringes on the rights of such student at school, or (v)substantially disrupts the education
process or the orderly operation of a school
Beyond this, bullying includes, but is not limited to a written, oral or electronic communication
or physical act or gesture based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as
race, color, religion ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, or mental, physical,

developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an individual or group who has or is

perceived to have one or more of such characteristics." (Connecticut Department of Education)
Effective 1 December 2012, North Carolina has made it a crime for students to bully their
teachers. Students can face jail time and/or a $1,000 fine for cyberbullying school employees.
Prohibited conduct includes posting a photo of a teacher on the internet, making a fake website,
signing a teacher up for junk mail.[19]