HOUSE PASSES ANTI-BULLYING BILL

(State House, Feb. 26) – State Representative Tom Sannicandro (D-Ashland) announced Wednesday H.3909, An Act Relative to Bullying in Schools, passed in the House. Sannicandro was a co-sponsor of the original bill H.454, filed at the beginning of the legislative session in January of 2013, which is at the center of today’s bill. The bill mandates the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to collect data on bullying in all Massachusetts’ K-12 schools and report annually to the Legislature. The bill strengthens guidelines for addressing vulnerable student populations through school policy guidelines and staff training.

“This bill gives the Legislature the information we need to more effectively target bullying in our schools and protect our most vulnerable students including our LGBT population,” said Rep. Sannicandro. “I am proud to be a co-sponsored of this bill.”

The bill is a follow-up to the landmark 2010 anti-bullying law which created a special commission to study the issue. Provisions of the bill are based on recommendations developed by a special commission chaired by Attorney General Coakley and include the following:

• Schools must annually report bullying data to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and submit aggregate data on bullying to the Attorney General and Legislature;

• DESE is required to inform parents about its Problem Resolution System and the process for seeking assistance or filing a claim;

• School bullying prevention plans must recognize that certain enumerated categories of students may be more vulnerable to becoming targets of bullying.

The House voted 143-4.

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