Anti-bullying bill draws support at hearing
HB 246, the anti-bullying bill, is up for a hearing in the Lincoln Auditorium this morning. UPDATE: After much testimony, some of it stirring, some very sad, and all of it in favor - the House Education Committee has approved the bill, sending it to the full House with a recommendation that it "do pass."
A bipartisan group of legislative co-sponsors – Reps. Patrick McDonald, R-Boise, and Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise - presented the bill to the committee. “It’s estimated 160,000 children do not attend school because of their fear of being mistreated,” McDonald told the committee. The bill requires training of school staff on how to intervene to prevent and stop bullying, and authorizes school staff to intervene. School districts also would be required to have policies including graduated consequences for dealing with bullying; the state Board of Education would issue guidelines for districts. School districts also would be required to track and report instances of bullying.
Matt McCarter of the state Department of Education said he gets calls from parents whose kids are being bullied at school about three times a month. In the latest state survey, he said, 33.8 percent of students reported being bullied in the past 12 months.
Dr. Perry Brown, a pediatrician, said, “It’s a gigantic issue. I literally see kids every day in my clinic,” who are suffering chronic abdominal issues and other health problems related to continued bullying at school. “This bill can’t fix the entire problem, but … I really think it’s a solid step,” he said.
Numerous parents, grandparents and youngsters are testifying in favor of the bill, sharing stories of bullying and the impact it has on youngsters. Prior to the start of the testimony, Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, made a motion to approve the bill and recommend that it pass. “Two years ago we had a bullying bill that came before us; it seemed to have a little bit more contentious issues than this one does, and I certainly supported that earlier one,” he said. “This is a better bill. It’s written better.” You can watch live here.
Idaho Education News has a full report here, including a video recap of the testimony.
