School bullying has been a hot button issue all over the United States for the last several years.
This year, state lawmakers want to tackle the issue, but are finding themselves hitting some roadblocks.
Seven years ago, Sean Scott was a bullied student at Columbia Middle School. His mother, Crystal, said he kept to himself after the bullying started.
“He doesn’t want to bring on any more embarrassment or discomfort to himself,” she said seven years ago. “But he’s come home with bruises and with marks and really upset.”
The images of bullying on buses and at school have encouraged state representatives all over the country to do something about the issue. Unfortunately, according to the Safe Kids Coalition, the Internet has only encouraged psychological bullying – the kind that led a St. Charles County teenager to kill herself.
The bill provides Missouri statute with a standardized definition of cyber bullying and it helps direct schools to formalize cyber-bullying policies, reporting mechanisms and teacher training,” St. Louis County Representative Sue Allen (R) said.
Conservative lawmakers in the past have gone as far as listing bullying practices and identified target groups for bullying, but critics of the legislation are not willing to open a door they view as a gay rights debate.
“We have to be specific,” Springfield Representative Sarah Lampe (D) said. “We cannot have bullying policies if we do not have training. Training rests on exactly what we say in training, which is what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.”
House speaker Steven Tilley said his committee chairmen will decide what makes it into the bill and what does not.
“I look forward to a fair, open and honest hearing on it,” Tilley said.
Currently, the bullying legislation has not been scheduled for a committee hearing.
What do you think about school bullying? Would you like to see the legislation and teacher training on school bullying happen?
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