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End Bullying of Elementary & High School Students

The “Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011” Parents, teachers, and school administrators know that students cannot learn when they are publicly shamed, intimidated, harassed, bullied, subjected to attacks through social media, or live in fear of their physical safety. In order help all children succeed in school, all of us must take on this issue head on and acknowledge that acts of harassment and bullying are not just something that can be dismissed as “kids being kids.” Instead, it is harmful and damaging behavior that must be taken very seriously.

The importance of providing for a safe school environment is the reason that two bills, labeled as the “Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011” have been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate. They are H.R. 1648 by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez of California and S. 506 by Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania. They would both enact the “Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011.

Although current Federal law provides funds to promote school safety, there are no provisions that prohibit or require funding recipients to expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment. The two Safe Schools Improvement bills would require, as a condition for receiving future Federal Safe Schools program funding, that schools and school district must ensure that their student codes of conduct specifically prohibit bullying and harassment. They would quire states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide reporting and would also allow schools to train faculty and staff on how to prevent bullying and address it effectively when it does occur.

More specifically, the bills would require states receiving Federal funding to do all of the following: (1) to provide specified information on acts of bullying and harassment committed by youth against other youth in elementary and secondary schools and in local communities; (2) to conduct and report the results of a needs assessment for prevention programs on bullying and harassment; and (3) to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to help halt bullying and harassment.

In addition, they would require LEAs: (1) to include clear prohibitions against bullying and harassment in their pupil discipline policies; (2) to establish and monitor performance indicators for bullying and harassment; and (3) to establish grievance procedures for pupils, parents, and educators could use to redress that conduct.

LEAs would be required to notify parents, pupils, and schools annually on: (1) the adopted pupil discipline policies prohibiting bullying and harassment; (2) the number and nature of incidents of bullying and harassment incidents occurring in their schools; and (3) the applicable grievance procedures that are available to redress that prohibited conduct.

At the Federal level, the United States Secretary of Education would be required to conduct and prepare a biennial report that would include an independent evaluation of available programs to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The Commissioner for Education Statistics also would be required to collect data, which would be subject to independent review, to determine the incidence and prevalence of bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools throughout the nation.

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Dear (recipient name),

As one of your constituents, I am writing to urge you to cosponsor and support H.R. 1648 and S. 506, which are two companion bills that would enact the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011.  The bills address the very important issue of the need to prevent all acts of harassment and bullying committed against students based on race, color, disability, gender, national origin, real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, religion, sex, or any other basis.

The prevention of harassment and bullying against students with disabilities is a very important issue to the disability community and educators. Disabled students consistently report that they are particularly susceptible to harassment and bullying simply because of their disability is not understood by their fellow students.

That lack of understanding is one of the reasons why the people with disabilities throughout the nation support the teaching and observance of Disability History.  Learning that people with disabilities are just like everyone else is achieved by exposing classes to the important contributions people with disabilities currently provide and have made throughout our nation’s and state’s history.

Acts of harassment and bullying that is committed by some students against others is a serious problem and must not simply be dismissed as “kids acting as kids.” Instead, they must be treated as forms of violence and destructive behavior that can damage the victim’s academic achievement and progress, as well as their physical, emotional, and mental health.

H.R. 1648 and S. 506 require schools and school districts, as a condition of receiving Federal Safe Schools funding, to ensure that their student codes of conduct specifically prohibit bullying and harassment.  They would quire states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide reporting and would also allow schools to train faculty and staff on how to prevent bullying and address it effectively when it does occur.

If you have not already done so, please consider cosponsoring H.R. 1648.  Senators Boxer and Feinstein have already agreed to cosponsor S. 506.

If you are already a cosponsor of H.R. 1648, I thank you for your agreement to do so and urge you and both of our state’s Senators to do all that you can to help the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011 be signed into law.

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