BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 100
Author: Liu (D), et al.
Amended: 8/30/12
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 8/30/12
SUBJECT : California Bullying Prevention Day
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares December 12, 2012, as
California Bullying Prevention Day, and recognizes the need
for individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local
governments, and the state to take action on behalf of
bullying prevention in California.
Assembly Amendments add coauthors.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. Bullying, a form of violence among children and youth,
is common on school playgrounds, in neighborhoods, and
in homes throughout California.
2. Bullying behaviors are recognized as dangerous and
harmful acts that victimize the targeted child and
bystanders. Bullying is a pattern of deliberate,
negative, hurtful, aggressive acts that works to shift
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the balance of physical, emotional, or social power.
3. Bullying may take many forms, such as physical, verbal,
and relational or social. Physical bullying and verbal
bullying are usually considered to be a direct form,
while relational bullying refers to an indirect form of
bullying, such as social exclusion and spreading rumors.
4. As computers and cell phones are rapidly becoming
popular for adolescents, cyberbullying, or electronic
bullying, is emerging as a new form of bullying.
Cyberbullying can be defined as a form of aggression
that occurs through personal computers or cell phones.
5. The prevalence of bullying among children and youth is
staggering, with studies nationally suggesting that 28%
of students were bullied at school and 6% were
cyberbullied.
6. School bullying has been identified as a problematic
behavior among adolescents, affecting school
achievement, prosocial skills, and psychological
well-being for both victims and perpetrators.
7. Children and youth who are bullied are more likely than
other children to be depressed, lonely, anxious, have
low self-esteem, experience headaches, stomachaches,
tiredness, and poor eating, be absent from school,
dislike school, and have poorer school performance, and
think about suicide or try to commit suicide.
8. Bullying can affect the social environment of a school,
creating a climate of fear among students, inhibiting
their ability to learn, and leading to other antisocial
behavior.
9. If students are in fear for their own safety, they are
unable to concentrate on learning. An estimated 160,000
students stay home from school every day due to
bullying, thereby impacting student achievement.
10.Bullying has long-term ramifications for public safety.
A bully is six times more likely to be incarcerated by
the age of 24.
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11.Bullying is a cyclical problem and will not end without
intervention. 2/3 of students who are targets become
bullies themselves.
12.Prevention of bullying requires coordination and
understanding. 25% percent of students say that
teachers intervened in bullying incidents, while 71% of
teachers say they have intervened.
13.When collaboration occurs, the impact is tremendous.
In schools where there are bullying prevention programs,
bullying is reduced by 50%.
14.The most effective model is a comprehensive program
using a combination of interventions schoolwide, at the
classroom level, and at the individual level to create a
social environment characterized by positive adult
involvement, firm limits for unacceptable behavior,
consistent use of sanctions for rule violations, and
recognition that adults are the authorities.
15.Restorative justice may be the most appropriate way to
prevent bullying. The aim of restorative justice is to
reintegrate those affected by wrongdoing back into the
community as resilient and responsible members.
Restorative justice is a form of conflict resolution and
seeks to make it clear to the offender that the behavior
is not condoned, while at the same time being supportive
and respectful of the individual.
16.Current trends in prevention use programs that are
designed for middle to high school students. However,
new research shows that most bullying starts in
elementary school, specifically in grades 2 to 5,
inclusive, therefore, intervention should start earlier.
17.Writer, actor, director, and producer Gerry Orz was
nine years of age when he created a film called "Day of
Silence." The film targets elementary and middle school
students and truthfully depicts the life of a youth who
is emotionally and physically bullied by a peer.
18.Gerry's compelling story mixes fiction and reality to
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demonstrate how bullying impacts a youth's schoolwork,
family, and well-being. He shares strategies for
students, parents, and schools that can protect children
from being bullied.
19.Gerry decided to produce the video after being bullied
at school. He wanted to speak out and encourage others
to do the same in order to break the silence.
20.Gerry has turned an awful experience into a story that
will prevent bullying and be a source of hope for
victims. In addition to his film, Gerry has started a
campaign to organize a global day of silence on December
12, 2012, in an effort to raise awareness about
bullying. Gerry suggested other means of supporting
Bullying Prevention Day for those supporters who are
unable to stay silent on December 12, 2012.
21.Providing a safe school environment for children and
youth is a family, community, state, and national
priority.
22.The future well-being of our state depends on the
values we place on our children and youth and in
particular on our actions to provide our young people
with opportunities to acquire knowledge and develop into
healthy and productive adults.
23.The Legislature declares December 12, 2012, as
California Bullying Prevention Day, and recognizes the
need for all of us as individuals, schools, communities,
businesses, local governments, and the state to take
action on behalf of bullying prevention in California.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RJG:k 8/31/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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