Florida legislators are working on a bill to standardize bullying and harassment policies in schools.
The bill is SB 268, which requires schools to have a bullying and harassment policy, outlines what that policy must include and indicates proper procedures for bullying reporting.
See, bullying is on the rise across the country and it is more than the arguments of yesterday’s youth. Technology makes it easier for bullies to get to their victims. Switching classes or saying “sticks and stones” no longer cuts it; neither does the myriad, outdated bullying policies across the state.
Florida Statutes were already in place to govern bullying policies. However, Senator Jeremy Ring (D, District 29) found them to be insufficient. He drafted SB 268 and is the sponsor for the bill.
So what changes are coming if the bill passes?
First, bullying policies must be updated every three years. This gives school administrators the time and place to reevaluate the effectiveness of their current policy and tailor it to their students’ needs. It makes the policy a “living document,” which takes into account changing curriculum, student needs, technology and environment.
Secondly, “reporting” has become “mandatory reporting.” That means if a student or teacher sees bullying, they must report it. Silence is a huge obstacle to bullying intervention since authorities cannot intervene in the situation if they are not aware of it.
The last big change is that the school district must authorize a list of curriculum that can be used to teach bullying prevention and intervention. As it was, the school districts could create their own curriculum to do this, which resulted in patchwork curriculum. Standardized curriculum allows the state to have more control over what is presented. If a student moves from one part of the state to another, it ensures that they will receive similar instruction on how to prevent and report bullying.
The bill has passed two of its three committees and seems to be on a fast track to becoming a law. SB 268 was filed on September 11, 2015. When the Senate session closed over the holidays, the bill waited for the Senate to reconvene, without ever being introduced.
On January 12, 2016, when the Senate opened early, the bill was introduced and then referred to three committees. These were: Education Pre-K to grade 12, Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and Fiscal Policy.
The bill passed the Education Pre-K to grade 12 committee on Feb. 2 with a vote of 10 to 0. The bill passed the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education on Feb. 11, with a vote of 6 to 0. The bill was stalled in the Fiscal Policy committee on Feb. 17, after it was not considered. It was replaced into the Fiscal Policy agenda for Feb. 24, which passed with a vote of 11-0 in favor of the bill.
Now the Senate must vote upon the bill and it will need to go through the House of Representatives before becoming a law. Despite the journey ahead, SB 268 is an encouraging step in the right direction to keep bullying out of schools.