March 5, 2002
REP. MUSHINSKY SPONSORS ANTI-BULLYING LEGISLATION
Says children should be able to concentrate on their studies in a safe environment
State Representative Mary Mushinsky announced today her support of Raised Bill 5425: An Act Concerning School Reporting of Bullying Behavior. A public hearing was held recently for Connecticut residents to testify on behalf of this proposed legislation. This legislation is designed to help communities combat bullying in their school systems and would require reports on bullying behavior among students so that the Department of Education has information on the size of the problem in each school district and each school.
"We raised this bill for a public hearing in response to the recent death of 11-year-old Daniel Scruggs," said Mushinsky, House Chair of the Select Committee on Children. "But Daniel is not the only one affected by bullying in this way."
Daniel, a middle school student, hung himself as a result of constant bullying. In January a parent removed an East Haven girl from school as a result of bullying as well. The parent felt the school refused to protect the daughter from bullying students.
The Commission on Children suggested a need for a community-based approach to this problem by instituting a survey, which should be mailed to students and parents inquiring about bullying, where and how often it occurs. This suggestion may be beneficial because they can detect where the bullying is taking place in each school district. Due to the large volume of unreported bullying incidents, this may allow students to come forward without having to identify themselves in order to address the issue at hand. Another suggestion made by the Anti-Defamation League, involves cards, which would define what bullying is and contain helpful guidelines for allowing teachers or other people to make distinctions about the definition of bullying.
Rep. Mushinsky also states "This bill is an effort to avoid a repeat tragedy and make a safe and secure environment for students to concentrate on their studies."