(Yeaaaaah!! (The pro-bullying lobby takes it on the chin ...) - promoted by Charley on the MTA)
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a strong, solid anti-bullying bill on a vote of 148-0, around 6:30 PM today. Anti-bullying advocates hailed the vote, which came after the House restored important provisions which had been stripped out by the House Ways and Means Committee late Tuesday. The Ways and Means Committee had taken out important requirements, including the mandates that school staff report bullying incidents to school principals, that principals investigate and notify police if criminal wrongdoing is suspected, that bullies be disciplined, and that parents of targets and victims be notified. Those provisions were restored in substance, and the House took the further step of mandating training of school staff, with phase-in to occur by the 2011-2012 academic year. The Senate had made training in bullying prevention/intervention optional out of cost concerns.
Advocates representing the coalition of 50+ organizations behind the bill were aghast to discover yesterday morning, as the legislature was observing a day off for "Evacuation Day," that the House Ways and Means Committee had significantly weakened the bill. The mandates described above were taken out. We mobilized our collective resources and generated a media and constituent outcry that astonished us and clearly the House of Representatives. We lined up sponsors for amendments to restore gutted provisions. The House Speaker and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee faced significant pushback from members at a morning caucus of House Democrats. Soon advocates and members were swept up in intense negotiations over the amendments, discussions that continued as the House debated the bill and considered a total of 43 amendments through the afternoon.
The Ways and Means Chairman argued that his bill addressed the subjects covered by the mandates axed by his Committee. He pointed out that most of the procedures deleted were required to be included in required school anti-bullying plans. That was correct, but his bill only required schools to develop plans, not actually adhere to them. Vague regulatory authority was given to the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education to address reporting-not clear whether staff reporting of bullying to principals or notification of parents was intended. The DESE was given no time frame over which to issue the regulations, and whatever reporting requirements were to be would not exist until after the regs were out. |
| Advocates wanted to restore straightforward mandates for reporting, investigation, discipline, and notification of law enforcement and parents. There was resistance to that approach. So instead we suggested and they agreed to add a requirement that schools adhere to the plans which are required to be developed and cover the subject areas mentioned. Moreover, the regulatory authority to the DESE was fleshed out to ensure it would accommodate strong reporting requirements, from staff to administrators, and from administrators to parents. The DESE was given a September 30, 2010 deadline to promulgate the regulations.
In collaboration with the Mass. Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College, advocates worked to develop no cost training options that made mandatory training sustainable. (State law interdicts unfunded mandates imposed by the legislature on cities and towns.) This information supported an amendment, sponsored by openly lesbian Rep. Sarah Peake, to make staff training mandatory. Legislators insisted on additional time for DESE to work out no or low cost training options for school districts, so implementation was set for the 2011-2012 school year.
Now the bill goes to conference committee, where we will be fighting hard to keep the training mandate. We are expecting this process to get underway as early as next week, with a clear desire by the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Education Committee to move expeditiously.
While over 50 organizations endorsed the legislation, 6 groups took the lead in the intensive advocacy on Beacon Hill. The lead advocate was the Anti-Defamation League, with the collaboration of the Mass. Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Mass Equality, the Anti-Violence Project/Join the Impact MA, and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. Special shout-outs go to Derek Shulman and Rob Trestan of the ADL, Arline Isaacson of the Caucus, Scott Gortikov and DeeDee Edmonson of Mass=, and Sam Bickett, Karen Loewy, and Nima Eshghi of GLAD. |
