WILLIAMS AMENDS EDUCATION BILL TO ADVANCE STUDENT BULLYING PREVENTION

HARRISBURG, OCT. 18 – State Sen. Connie Williams successfully amended a Senate bill with language that would require all school districts to provide and enforce a policy to prevent student bullying and intimidation.

During a meeting of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday, Williams amended Senate Bill 966, which deals with school reporting requirements to local law enforcement.

“Many parents don’t realize that public schools are not mandated to establish and promote policies that would protect students from intimidation and bullying in schools,” Williams said. “Some schools do have policies and programs in place, but not all do, because it is not required under the School Code. Bullying is not specifically defined or directly addressed in the code. My amendment would address that shortcoming.”

The amendment language draws upon the current school code and state regulations for education, to require public school districts to draft and adopt anti-bullying and anti-intimidation policies, including bullying and intimidation that takes place on the Internet. Schools will be required to regularly revisit the policies every three years to ensure that they are up-to-date and meet the needs of the student population. Under the school code, the Department of Education already has the authority to withhold funds from any Commonwealth appropriation to a school district that fails to file required reports or to abide by rules that relate to student health and safety.

The language, which is found in Senate Bill 71, is a joint effort of Williams and Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery). Williams offered the amendment on behalf of herself and Greenleaf.

“School is supposed to be a safe place for students,” Williams said. “For students to learn, they need to have an environment that is conducive to learning. It only takes one child, a bully, to disrupt the balance. This legislation is common sense and builds upon the best practices already in place in some districts.”

Williams noted that she and Sen. Greenleaf would continue to look for opportunities to amend student bullying prevention language into other bills that are positioned for final votes before the end of the 2005-06 Legislative Session (Sine Die).