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Equality In The News

Mar 9, 2010

MassEquality Urges Legislature to Quickly Pass Anti-Bullying Bill

MassEquality Staff

S. 2283, An Act Relative to Bullying in Schools ("The Anti-Bullying Bill") will soon be coming before the Massachusetts Senate for a vote. MassEquality supports this bill and urges the Legislature to act quickly on its passage.

"We believe this bill's requirements go a long way toward creating a school climate that ensures the safety of all students," said Executive Director Scott D. Gortikov.

The Anti-Bullying Bill was reported out of the Joint Committee on Education on Feb. 24, 2010. This comprehensive legislation aims to prevent bullying and cyberbullying by requiring school districts to develop anti-bullying curricula and train all personnel -- from principals to janitors -- in preventing and stopping bullying when they see or become aware of it. The bill also requires all school personnel to immediately report bullying incidents to school administrators.

MassEquality strongly lobbied for the inclusion of language specifically protecting the Commonwealth's most at-risk students from bullying (known as "enumerated categories"), including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, or those perceived to be LGBT, are more often targeted for bullying than their straight peers, and are also at higher risk for suicidal behavior. This language was not included in the version of the bill released from the Education Committee. Despite this omission, MassEquality will continue advocating for LGBT-specific policies during the development and implementation phases of this new law to ensure proper trainings and curricula are developed at the local level.

"Though we are disappointed by the absence of enumerated protections, MassEquality believes this is a meaningful bill that will give all students in the Commonwealth the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe environment," said Gortikov. "We urge the House and Senate to act swiftly on its passage in order to prevent further tragedies like the recent suicides of Carl Walker-Hoover and Phoebe Prince."