BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 22
Author: Hueso (D), et al
Amended: 3/25/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 3/25/11
SUBJECT : California School Bullying Prevention Awareness
Month
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares March 2011 to be
California School Bullying Prevention Awareness month, and
urges that the issue of bullying, and methods of preventing
it, be discussed with appropriate activities in California
schools during this time.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Encourages school districts, county offices of education,
law enforcement agencies, and agencies serving youth to
develop and implement interagency strategies, in-service
training programs, and activities that will improve
school attendance and reduce school crime and violence,
including vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, gang
membership, gang violence, hate crimes, bullying,
including bullying committed personally or by means of an
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electronic act, teen relationship violence, and
discrimination and harassment, including, but not limited
to, sexual harassment.
2.Prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for
expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the principal
determines that the pupil has committed any of various
specified acts, including bullying, including, but not
limited to bullying by means of an electronic act.
This resolution finds:
1.School bullying has become an increasingly significant
problem in the United States and California.
2.Almost 35 percent of pupils in the United States are
estimated to be involved in bullying each year, either as
a bully or a victim. An estimated eight percent of
pupils in kindergarten through grade 12 miss at least one
day of school every month due to a fear of being bullied.
3.Bullying can take many forms, including verbal, physical,
and psychological forms, and can happen in many places on
and off school grounds. Bullying through electronic
means is a serious and growing concern.
4.Bullying begins at the elementary grades, peaks in grades
6 through 8, and persists in high school.
5.Bullying is a public health problem that leads to
depression and low self-esteem well into adulthood, and
the bullies themselves engage in criminal behavior later
in life at higher rates.
6.It is important for California pupils, parents, school
staff, and school administrators to be aware of bullying,
to encourage discussion of the problem as a school
community, and to engage in prevention and education.
7.The California Department of Education adopted in 2001 a
policy on bullying prevention designed to encourage
positive behaviors and to eliminate bullying behaviors in
California schools.
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Comments
The American Psychological Association defines bullying as
a form of aggressive behavior in which someone
intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury
or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical
contact, words or more subtle actions. A nationally
representative survey conducted by the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development, finds that
approximately 30 percent of American schoolchildren in
grades 6 through 10 have been bullied or have bullied other
children "sometimes" or more often within a semester.
According to the author's office, bullying contributes to
youth violence including homicide and suicide. The
author's office also states that studies show that adult
and peer intervention reduce bullying incidents and that
the best way to protect students against bullying is to
establish programs that create awareness through education,
training, and best practice methodologies.
In September 2007, the National Association of Attorneys
General (NAAG) Task Force on School and Campus Safety
released a report that includes specific recommendations to
address school safety issues. Recommendations from the
NAAG Task Force included a recommendation for states to
"continue to implement and expand bullying prevention
measures, including cyber bullying." The report states,
"Bullying was recognized as an important issue in examining
school violence. The growth in the use of technology and
social networking sites by younger Americans has fueled a
fear among professionals that cyber bullying will become
the means most often utilized to harass, threaten or
otherwise cause distress. And while certainly more
prevalent in the elementary and secondary school setting,
issues related to bullying or intimidation are increasingly
relevant in other nontraditional settings."
According to information provided by the author's office,
the White House called for a conference on bullying
prevention in March and the author's plan was to introduce
this resolution as Bullying Prevention Awareness Week to
coincide with the President's conference. But because the
conference has already passed, as it took place on March
11, 2011, the author decided to change the resolution to
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declare March 2011 as California School Bullying Prevention
Awareness Month.
The National Bullying Prevention Center, a project of the
Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights developed
the National Bullying Prevention Month campaign in the
United States in 2006 and has been held during the month of
October. The campaign had typically been held during the
first week of October and in 2010 it was expanded to
include activities, education and awareness building for
the entire month. The campaign came in response to the
need to raise awareness of bullying and its devastating
effects such as school avoidance, loss of self-esteem,
increased anxiety, and depression. The campaign reached
out to education based organizations such as the National
Parent Teacher Association, the American Federation of
Teachers and the National Education Association to provide
schools, parents and students with resources to respond to
bullying behavior and to address the issue of bullying
through education and support. This campaign has been
recognized as an annual event in the month of October.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/6/11)
Anti-Defamation League
California State PTA
San Diego Unified School District
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Peace Partners, Inc.
SIA Tech - School for Integrated Academics and Technologies
CPM:cm 4/6/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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