WILLIAMS TO HOST NEWS EVENT TO TALK ABOUT STUDENT BULLYING PREVENTION

 HARRISBURG, JUNE 7 – While many elementary and secondary schools are preparing for summer break, state Sen. Connie Williams is encouraging her colleagues to use the summer break to put in place a new state-level policy that will help schools to protect students by getting to the root of many of the school safety issues – student bullying.

 “There are certain horrific scenes of school violence that will forever stay with us, such as the shootings that occurred at Columbine High School in 1999, the 1998 shooting at James W. Parker Middle School in Edinboro, PA, the 2001 shooting at Bishop Neumann High School in Williamsport and the 2004 shooting at Red Lion Area Junior High School,” Williams said. “We have learned from these events. Today most schools have zero tolerance policies when it comes to bringing weapons to school and have increased efforts to address drug and alcohol usage. What hasn’t been done in all Pennsylvania schools, however, is to address one of the main causes of student violence – student bullying.”

 According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, while school violence has declined in recent years, student bullying has increased.

 “Name calling, excluding other students from activities, spreading rumors, hitting, kicking, teasing or taunting are all acts of bullying,” Williams said. “On the surface, these are minor issues, but when the behaviors are allowed to continue they can have a definite negative effect upon both the bullied and the bully. If you look at some of the school shooting incidents, such as the 2001 shooting in Williamsport, you will notice that the shooter was a student who was frequently teased or bullied. In some cases, bullying has led children to commit suicide.”

  Williams will host a news conference in the Capitol Media Center at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 14^th to discuss the issue of student bullying and the need for all schools to have an anti-bullying policy in place. Joining her will be Miss Teen Pennsylvania International 2006, Jenna Knopsnyder, who has chosen student bullying prevention as her community service platform, and who personally experienced bullying as a high school student; Dr. Karen Geller, a middle school principal in Upper Merion School District who established an anti-bullying program in her school district; Randi Boyette of the Anti-Defamation League; Roy Baldwin of the Bully Police; and a 16-year-old high school student who was bullied.

 Williams has introduced legislation (S.B. 1013) to address the student bullying issue. Her legislation would not only require all public schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy, but also would require schools to make sure all students and their parents are made aware of the policy. Williams noted that her goal was to raise awareness to the issue and to ensure that every school in Pennsylvania had a policy in place.

 “It is imperative that the state begin to take a serious look at the issue of student bullying and establish state-level policy to ensure that all school districts are armed with the tools they need to protect Pennsylvania’s children,” Williams said. “Bullying is not a new issue. The fact is that as we address student bullying, we do need to look at this as a child’s issue and we need to let students know that bullying is wrong.”