BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 51
Author: Lieu (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : California Bullying Prevention Day
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares December 12, 2013, 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.
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 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
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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.
11.Bullying is a cyclical problem and will not end without
intervention. Two-thirds of students who are targets become
bullies themselves.
12.Prevention of bullying requires coordination and
understanding. 25% percent of students say that teachers
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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
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
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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, 2013, 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,
2013.
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.
This resolution declares December 12, 2013, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
JG:k 6/19/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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