Delegate Rice says ‘Bullying and Cyberbullying must stop now’

ANNAPOLIS, MD- as the New Year begins, and schools open their doors for the second semester, the Maryland General Assembly is getting ready to consider a Bill that just might make those halls friendlier and easier to walk through.  The Bill will address School Policy and Disciplinary Standards regarding bullying.  The Legislature will ask the State Board of Education to establish specific policies prohibiting bullying in schools.  The State Board will also be asked to develop a model for uniform standards for investigating complaints and disciplining individuals who have violated the bullying policy.

Delegate Craig L Rice, the sponsor of the bill, notes that bullying in schools is a nationwide problem that can have negative consequences for not only the student, but for the school and community itself.  Bullying denies students the right to learn in a safe environment, and can also have serious lifelong consequences--both for students who bully and for their victims.  Defining the terms and the punishments and the procedure for protecting victims will make it easier for the schools to deal with this increasing problem.

The American Psychological Association also reports that the Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education have research involving 37 school shootings, including Columbine, and find that about two-thirds of student shooters felt bullied, harassed, threatened or injured by others. And although they assure us that not all school bullying cases lead to school shootings, it does indicate that it is a more serious and complicated problem than previously recognized.

Delegate Rice said, “Although a Law cannot stop bullying, it can define it and identify its various forms, including cyber-bullying, as a serious school problem.  This legislation will give schools the tools it needs to deal with bullying in a consistent and standardized fashion, so no student is faced with the choice of not attending school or ending their life as a means of avoiding the trauma realized by being bullied.”