Governors Prevention Partnership - State Anti-Bullying Law: Legislation to Practice

State Anti-Bullying Law: Legislation to Practice
presented by Elaine Zimmerman, The Connecticut Commission on Children

Materials:

Workshop Summary by Robert Freyer

Robert Freyer is a student at the University of Connecticut and an intern for The Governor's Prevention Partnership

In June 2008, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed An Act Concerning School Learning Environment (P.A. 08-160) into law. The law, a revision of a 2002 statute, requires each Connecticut school board to develop and implement a prevention and intervention strategy to address bullying. Although bullying prevention processes were already in the works Connecticut in the 1990s, violence prevention plans became a higher priority to the public after the April 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. The 2008 law requires schools to investigate reports of suspected bullying and hold an intervention meeting with the bully, the victim and each student's parents; it also mandates that each school report the number of verified bullying acts to the state Department of Education. Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children, presented a lecture on the law at the 2010 Best Practices Conference on positive school climate and student success.

In addition, the new law changed the definition of bullying from "ridiculing, harassing, humiliating or intimidating acts repeated over time" to acts "committed more than once against any student during the school year." In her workshop titled "State Anti-Bullying Law: Legislation to Practice," Zimmerman explained that the altered wording focuses the definition and helps clarify when intervention is needed, making it easier to answer the question "When do you call it bullying?"

What are the causes of bullying? "Students become bullies because our culture allows it," Zimmerman said. "Too many people have learned to mind their own business and go about life as complicit bystanders, failing to take initiative in addressing the physically and psychologically harmful behaviors that happen much too frequently in Connecticut schools."

According to Zimmerman, bullies thrive on two principles: power and diversity. "Bullies," she continued, "target victims because they are `different' (ethnically, sexually, physically, or intellectually) and thrive not only on the power they exert over victims, but also on the lack of protest and seeming approval from bystanders." Sometimes, as was the case at Columbine, victims feel the only effective way to stop being harassed is to retaliate with violence and become a bully themselves.

One of the most challenging provisions of the current legislation is the implementation of effective prevention strategies. Zimmerman encouraged school representatives to consult Delbert Elliot's Blueprints for Violence Intervention, which provides statistical analysis of a variety of programs. She emphasized that teachers need to be move visible where bullying occurs, such as the hallways, cafeterias and even the school parking lot. Students (both victims and bystanders) need to know who their allies are and how they can access them.

"The problem is acknowledged but rarely or poorly addressed," Zimmerman said. "Even kids want to help, but we're not telling them how. There is a need for teacher and parent training on how to identify, address, stop and prevent bullying. They need to be provided with knowledge of effective prevention models and best practices if the current law is going to reach its desired and full outcome."