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Parent Teacher Association of Connecticut, Inc. |
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TRACKING THE ISSUES... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | 1 out of 4 kids is Bullied. |
| 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some "Bullying." |
| 8% of students miss 1 day of class per month for fear of Bullies. |
| 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school. |
| 100,000 students carry a gun to school. |
| 28% of youths who carry weapons have witnessed violence at home. |
| A poll of teens ages 12-17 proved that they think violence increased at their schools. |
| 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month. |
| More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school. |
| 80% of the time, an argument with a bully will end up in a physical fight. |
| 1/3 of students surveyed said they heard another student threaten to kill someone. |
| 1 out of 5 teens knows someone who brings a gun to school. |
| 2 out of 3 say they know how to make a bomb, or know where to get the information to do it. |
| Almost half of all students say they know another student who's capable of murder. |
| Playground statistics - Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention -4% Peer intervention - 11%. No intervention - 85%. |
Ellis said, ”Helping your children cope with either being a bully or being a victim often requires outside assistance, such as from your child's school or the community. School is the most likely place for bullying to occur, so discuss your concerns with your child's teachers and counselor and ask what they can do to help. School personnel can be influential in helping a child modify his behavior. Take advantage of any psychological counseling services that may be offered at your child's school or in your community.”
Bullying is a form of child abuse and bullies are very likely to grow up as an adult who abuses children.
More information about bullying and how to help your children and students can be found at the Love Our Children web site.
Source: PNNOnline, 8/26/2006
Bullying Increasing: First Boys, Now Girls
Bullying Can Lead to Bigger Problems Down the Road
That schoolyard bully who pushes, punches, and threatens other children may in turn commit assault behaviors later, says a Washington-based pediatrician.
Bullying is a growing problem, with the average number of school-based violent events involving multiple victims increasing from one event per school year in 1992 to more than five events per year in 1998, according to a HELP Network fact sheet.
Read the whole story on WebMD >>
EDUCATION RIGHTS CONFERENCE
March 24, 2005, at the Hartford Marriott Rocky Hill, sponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education, Office of the Child Advocate Commission on Children, Anti-Defamation League
In an era when bullying and harassment continue to be problematic in our schools, it becomes even more critical that parents, guardians, advocates and students are more informed of their rights under state and federal laws. An understanding of the different avenues for making complaints and obtaining support will better enable more efficient and effective resolutions.
Registration is FREE but you must register since space is
limited.
Deadline to register is March 4, 2005.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
An Act Concerning Bullying Behavior in Schools
State of CT Dept. of Education suggestions for implementation at the local level
According to the Connecticut State Department of Education; local school districts are encouraged to seek the involvement of school administrators, teachers, students, parents and local law enforcement.
The intent of the legislation is to ensure that acts of bullying behavior are reported to the appropriate school personnel; incidents are reviewed and investigated; and all parties are brought together to address the problem.
The legislation is clear that there are to be ways for
students, teachers and parents to communicate and report acts of bullying and
that each school maintain a publicly available list of the number of verified
bullying acts that occurred in the school.
This legislation requires that school administrators investigate parents’
written reports and review students’ anonymous reports. Districts are encouraged
to establish written procedures regarding how an investigation and review will
be conducted. The investigation and review of incidents of bullying and the
required notice to parents or guardians of all students involved in a verified
act of bullying and the school’s response and any consequences that may result
from further acts of bullying should comply with the rights of confidentiality
of students. Additionally, when referring to any consequences that may result
from further acts of bullying, school administrators should not detail
progressive discipline steps that may restrict aggressive enforcement of future
offenses.
Finally, while not required by this public act, parents or guardians of the student victim could be informed of actions taken by the school district to provide safety for the student victim who fears retaliation.
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Section 1 of Public Act 02-119, An Act Concerning Bullying Behavior in Schools (Effective July 1, 2002 ) Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy, for use on and after February 1, 2003, to address the existence of bullying in its schools. Such policy shall: (1) Enable students to anonymously report acts of bullying to teachers and school administrators, (2) enable the parents or guardians of students to file written reports of suspected bullying, (3) require teachers and other school staff who witness acts of bullying or receive student reports of bullying to notify school administrators, (4 require school administrators to investigate any written reports filed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this section and to review any anonymous reports, (5) include an intervention strategy for school staff to deal with bullying, (6) provide for the inclusion of language in student codes of conduct concerning bullying, (7) require the parents or guardians of students who commit any verified acts of bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom such acts were directed to be notified, and (8) require each school to maintain a list of the number of verified acts of bullying in such school and make such list available for public inspection. The notification required pursuant to subdivision (7) of this section shall include a description of the response of school staff to such acts and any consequences that may result from the commission of further acts of bullying. For purposes of this section, "bullying" means any overt acts by a student or a group of students directed against another student with the intent to ridicule, humiliate or intimidate the other student while on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity which acts are repeated against the same student over time. |
The Governor has signed into law Public Act 02-119 which requires boards of education to develop a policy to address bullying, including a process for anonymous reporting, intervention, and parent notification. The bill also requires the adoption of a policy to ensure that time is available each day for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy, for use on and after February 1, 2003, to address the existence of bullying in its schools. This portion of the law went into effect July 1, 2002.
Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy to ensure that time is available each school day for students in the schools under its jurisdiction to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance". The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to require any person to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance". This portion of the law becomes effective October 1, 2002.
Bullying Behavior Bill Status
An Act Concerning Bullying Behavior in Schools passed the CT House and it will now be heard by the CT Senate.
May 4, 2002
On the morning of Jan. 2, 2002, Judith Scruggs called the state Department of Children and Families to ask about a residential counseling program for her 12-year-old son Daniel. She had been dealing with DCF for two months over Daniel's refusal to go to school.
It was the day after Christmas vacation. Most Meriden students returned to school that morning. Daniel Scruggs did not. Instead he hanged himself in his cluttered bedroom closet.
As a teacher's aide at Washington Middle School, Judith
Scruggs said, she knows her son was bullied. In the 78 days of school up until
his suicide, Daniel was either absent or tardy 74 days. Daniel and his mother
said he was afraid of bullies. This was the root of Daniel's problems, according
to Judith Scruggs
and her attorney. Both the police affidavit and the DCF report discuss bullying
that the 12-year-old endured, but neither arrived at a conclusion about what
happened at Washington or who may have tormented Daniel.
CLICK
HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
(file is in Adobe®
Acrobat® format...
click here if you
need the free reader)
April 8, 2002
It appears that the Connecticut State House of Representatives may pass "An Act Concerning Bullying Behavior in Schools", a bill which mandates that school systems report instances of bullying to parents/guardians, and to the state, and mandates that anti-bullying language be included in student codes of conduct.
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COMPLETE TEXT OF THE BILL... CLICK HERE |
| (file is in Adobe® Acrobat® format... click here if you need the free reader) |
April 1, 2002
News reports of a 12-year-old boy who hanged himself in a closet this January left Wallingford mother Lisa Toomey feeling shaken. According to the boy's mother, J. Daniel Scruggs had been a longtime target for torment and teasing at his Meriden middle school. Like Scruggs, Toomey's son had been bullied in middle school, to the point where he broke down and a teacher notified Toomey of what had been going on in school. "I said, `It could have been my son,'" Toomey said. "My son could have been dead. I've got to do something."
After another boy began picking on her son, Toomey began researching the effects of bullying and ways to prevent it. After Scruggs' death, Toomey and a friend formed a group to get that information to parents and educators.
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
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July 7, 2001
By Therese Duncan, VP for Legislation
with commentary by Deborah Walsh, Past CT PTA
President
| Good news from the legislature!
Last year CT PTA took a position on the issue of bullying and it became part of our legislative platform. As VP for Legislation I served on the State of Connecticut Bullying Task Force and testified in Hartford on this subject. The CT Legislature has passed House bill number 7502 during the special session, public act number 01-1, "An Act Concerning Expenditures For The Programs And Services Of The Department of Education." A section pertaining to anti-bullying has been included in this bill (see table at right). As reports and analysis unfold, I will be reporting to our members of the legislative outcomes. In addition, as a member of the task force, I was invited to attend a press conference on July 25 at the state capitol. |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING CT PTA EFFORTS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC REGARDING BULLYING, CONTACT: CT PTA Vice-President, Legislation
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By Deborah Walsh
While I am happy that the legislature addressed the bullying issue, I am concerned that "parents" are not mentioned anywhere in the legislation. There is no parent component. CT PTA's position had a strong parent component that the new legislation does not.
As PTA members and leaders, one of our overriding concerns must be the inclusion of parents in the decision-making processes in schools and in any area that touches the lives of children. While our primary responsibility is as advocates for children, our goal should be to ensure that all parents have the skills and opportunities to advocate for children as well. So, while I applaud the legislature's intent, I do not see this as a total victory for PTA. It is, however, a start.
National PTA is vigilant in its efforts to include parents in the federal legislation process, and including parent language in bills impacting children. National PTA is a constant reminder on Capitol Hill that parents must be included in decision making processes and that assuming schools will include parents is a bad assumption. Too many schools in this country do not include parents. There are only 8 states with parent involvement policy legislation (Connecticut is one of them), but none of these states have any real teeth in the law or an enforcement component assuring compliance. In many states (and CT may be one of those), the laws are on the books but no one is there to make sure that school systems comply.
Therese worked hard on the bullying committee and showed the importance of having a parent's perspective in the legislative process. It is too bad that the state legislature did not see the importance of parents; what they did, instead, is make the assumption that all schools would probably include parents in order to get the grant. We know for fact that all schools do not include parents in decision-making.
Therese, you are to be thanked and applauded for all the time and effort you gave this committee and the many others you sit on. CT PTA could not do its work without your dedication. I am, as always, amazed by your commitment to children. From one parent to another - from one parent advocate to another - thanks so much for all you do for Connecticut's children!
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