Minnesota Public Radio discovers Minnesota schools may be "Weak on Bullying"

In a May 16th report by Minnesota Public Radio, MPR News found out that the state doesn't have the repository of individual bullying policies as required by the state law.  So MPR News contact nearly 500 schools in Minnesota and asked for a copy of each school's bullying policy.  The result: even with a clear state law requiring policies, there are still lots of inconsistencies.

So right away, let's talk about what Minnesota got right: they have a law requiring each school board to adopt a written policy prohibiting bullying and intimidation of any student, and the law requires that the policies address bullying and intimidation of all types, and even includes cyberbullying, which is really important given the recent rise in internet intimidation and bullying that can have tragic results.

Unfortunately, most schools in Minnesota relied on a state template to create their individual policies.  While this did accomplish the goal of getting a policy on the books in most schools, the template missed a key component recommended by federal education officials which requires tracking of bullying incidents.

Bullying laws are really important to protecting children and teens, and given the rise in serious injuries and even deaths, it is time we take a hard look at our schools and our policies to see what we can do better to protect our students.

Take a stand today and get in touch with your representative - tell them that you want them to investigate this issue and create some dialogue in the legislature.  In Indiana, our next big step is to put together a bullying law proposal that can get out of committee and into hearing.

You can learn more about programs to prevent bullying by clicking on the Happy Kids Safe Schools tab at the top of my blog.

And don't forget the 2011 Miss Indiana Pageant is coming up in June in Zionsville.  Get in touch with me right away if you need tickets to sit in my cheering section, and please contribute to my fundraising goal for the Children's Miracle Network by May 30th by searching for my name at www.missmerica4kids.org