Vermont's Bully Prevention Law - ACT 117
Bully Prevention Bill H.629/ACT 117
Assigned to the House Education Committee on 1/27/04
Joint House/Senate Ed Committee Public Hearing held in Winooski on 4/5/04
Passed 11-0 in the House Education Committee on 4/29/04
Passed 130-9 in the Vermont House on 4/27/04
Assigned to the Senate Education Committee on 4/29/04
Passed 5-0 in the Senate Education Committee on 5/5/04
Passed Unanimously in the Vermont Senate on 5/6/04
Signed by Governor Douglas on 5/18/04
Governor Douglas Signs Bullying Prevention Policy Law
Montpelier, Vt., May 18, 2004--Governor Jim Douglas signed into law a bill establishing bullying prevention procedures for schools.Governor Douglas said the measure is the result of efforts by those who have worked to raise awareness about bullying and its effects on children. "Bullying is conduct that this bill recognizes as being more than just 'kids being kids'," Douglas said. "When it becomes pervasive, persistent and designed to humiliate or ridicule our children it requires some response from not only parents but also our schools."John Halligan, (seen here with his wife to the Governor's right) whose son took his own life after being the victim of persistent bullying, thanked parents, students, educators and lawmakers who supported the bill. "No Vermont child should ever again be driven to self inflicted harm and even death, to cope with the self doubt and pain caused by bullying," Halligan said. "We do not pass laws expecting them to solve problems over night. We pass laws to make a strong statement of what is expected when we commune as a society. This bill makes a very strong statement of what is expected of our schools when it comes to bullying prevention.""Bullying is an issue that should concern all of us--as students, as parents, as school officials and as lawmakers," Douglas said. "The first step in solving an issue such as bullying is to raise awareness through public and private dialogue. This law, and those who worked so hard for its passage, have accomplished this and I thank them for their efforts," he said.
Governor Jim Douglas signs into law H.629 Bullying Prevention Policies.
We would have never achieved such rapid success without your support!
THANK YOU!
What should you do if your child is being bullied?
First and foremost, make sure the school does not employ "conflict resolution" or "peer mediation" to address bullying. Conflict resolution is when they bring the two students into the office and have the victim describe what the perpetrator has been doing to them and how they feel about it. The goal is to get the bully to feel some remorse, understand how hurtful their actions are and apologize.
Kids will tell you this is nonsense. What happens typically is the bully fakes the apology and the minute they leave your child is a victim all over again in the form of retaliation. Peer mediation is leaving it up to the "student leaders" to resolve the "conflict." Again, this is a reckless approach. The wrong message sent is that there might have been a plausible reason to bully someone. In both approaches, the victim is re-victimized by now having the humiliation of telling people in front of the bully that they are being bullied. The bully in fact is made even more powerful by these setups.
BULLYING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A CONFLICT!!!!
Bullying is humiliating, intimidating or ridiculing somebody through exploiting an imbalance of power - either socially, physically or intellectually.
Document very clearly the incidents of bullying - bully(ies), date, time and place and what exactly was said or done. If it is happening on the computer, teach yourself and your child how to use the "print screen" option on your computer.
Set up a meeting with the principal and bring your documentation. Hand a copy to them and request an action plan to address the problem. Do not agree to allowing them moving your child to a different class or changing their schedule to avoid the bully. Demand they change the bully's class or schedule instead. The bully needs to feel they are socially inept, not your child. Demand a safety plan and that at least one adult in the school building will be responsible for keeping an eye on the bully. Throughout this meeting and any other meetings, take very careful notes of what was said and agreed to. E-mail your notes back to the principal after the meeting so there is a clear record of what transpired and was agreed to.
If your principal refuses to take your complaint serious, set up a meeting with the superintendent and repeat the suggestions above. If the superintendent fails to respond adequately, contact your state's department of education. There is usually someone assigned to assist in these situations. Vermont has a division titled "Safe and Healthy Schools."
If the problem still continues, get a lawyer and sue the school district for school choice. You should pull your child out of this school as soon as possible and find a private or public school that has a better handle on this issue. You will feel the urge to get the principle or superintendent fired but the hard reality is these are government institutions that move very slowly. Your child's well being is far too valuable to risk while you bang your head against this brick wall.
There are many schools being led by excellent, competent principals. With this law in place to back them up against the parents of bullies that refuse to take responsibility, they are making further progress. Tragically, we still one too many schools being led by incompetence and callousness and in the end, children suffer needlessly. If I was Governor, I would make school choice a top priority to short circuit these situations and put competitive pressure on schools that fail to hire competent leaders.