4 July, 2011
Annual reporting data should be compiled and submitted by schools in order to improve bullying prevention efforts in the Commonwealth, according to a report from a Commission convened in the wake of the passage of the state’s anti-bullying law last year.
The Commission to Review Statutes Relative to Implementation of the School Bullying Law (The Commission), Chaired by Attorney General Martha Coakley, was charged with reviewing the Massachusetts General Laws to consider whether any laws needed to be amended or created in order to more effectively address bullying and cyber-bullying. The Commission held public hearings in Boston and Springfield, and gathered testimony from more than 50 people including educators, parents, civil rights advocates, law enforcement, and bullying prevention experts. It submitted its full findings in a report today to the Legislature.
“Preventing bullying and cyber-bullying continue to be one of the most significant challenges our schools face to protect our kids and create a positive learning environment,” said AG Coakley. The bullying law passed last year was a significant step forward in our efforts to better protect our children and create a positive learning environment. The Commission believes that the next important step is to begin collecting data to track instances of bullying and then use that data to improve our schools’ prevention efforts.”
The Committee today submitted seven total recommendations to the Legislature, including the implementation of annual reporting. During the testimony, numerous participants called for such a state-wide reporting mechanism in order to collect data from school districts regarding incidents of bullying that can be used to measure the efficacy of the Act and continue to make improvements to the law.
The full recommendations made by the Commission, based on testimony at the hearings and additional deliberations by Commission members, were:
1.The Legislature should establish a mechanism for annually reporting data regarding bullying to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education;
2.The Legislature should require that schools make explicit in school anti-bullying plans that certain enumerated categories of students are particularly vulnerable to bullying and harassment;
3.The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should continue to emphasize and publicize the Department’s problem resolution system;
4.The Legislature should consider additional funding sources for training initiatives and for DESE’s work;
5.Schools and school districts must work to foster parental involvement to stop bullying and resolve incidents of bullying;
6.No new or additional criminal laws are necessary at this time;
7.The Legislature may wish to extend the term of this Commission for two years.
On May 3, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a landmark anti-bullying bill for Massachusetts. Provisions of this new law include requirements for schools to create and implement bullying prevention plans and curricula. The bullying prevention law also updated several criminal statutes to address certain cyber-bullying conduct that may rise to the level of criminal behavior. It also directed the Attorney General's Office to work with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and other agencies to develop a model bullying prevention plan and to identify the resources needed to create a school climate in which every student feels safe – in and out of school.
The law also gave responsibility to the Attorney General's Office to chair a Commission comprised of stakeholders from the law enforcement and education communities. According to the statute, the Commission was charged with “the review of the General Laws to determine if they need to be amended in order to address bullying and cyber-bullying and to investigate parental responsibility and liability for bullying and cyber-bullying.” The law also requires the Commission to “report to the general court the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out such recommendations on or before June 30, 2011.”
The Commission has been meeting bi-monthly since June 2010.
The members of the Commission on Bullying Prevention are:
Martha Coakley, Chair, Massachusetts Attorney General
Michael Bellotti, Sheriff, Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association
David Capeless, Berkshire County District Attorney
Steve Clem, Executive Director, Association of Independent Schools in New England
Michael Long, General Counsel, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents
Mary Lyons, Police Chief, Mattapoisett, MA Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association
Laura Salomons, School Committee Member, Sharon, MA, Massachusetts Association of School Committees
