New Jersey's Anti-Bullying Law, Toughest In Country, Garners Praise And Criticism

Schoolyard and lunch line bullies in New Jersey might get much heavier punishment than a trip to the principal's office.

A new state law signed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in January and effective this week redesigns a previous anti-bullying law from 2002 that failed to implement policies to fight bullying in schools, the Statehouse Bureau reports. The law, also known as the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights," is said to be the toughest piece of anti-bullying legislation in the country.

The law in part stems from the death of Ridgewood High School alumnus Tyler Clementi, who was a freshman at Rutgers University when he committed suicide after falling victim to bullying. Among the legislation's 22 pages are procedures for students and school officials to report, investigate and resolve instances of bullying. The law also mandates that schools appoint anti-bullying specialists and that districts hire an anti-bullying coordinator. Schools and districts must regularly submit reports to the state Department of Education.

"By strengthening standards for preventing, reporting, investigating and responding to incidents of bullying this act will help to reduce the risk of suicide among students and avert not only the needless loss of a young life, but also the tragedy that such loss represents to the student's family and the community at large," the law reads.

But while many parents and teachers applaud bullying prevention, critics of the law are concerned that the legislation puts both an administrative and financial burden on districts and their schools. More than 200 schools across the state have spent a total of over $259,000 for a DVD and 100-page manual to train employees in compliance with the law, the New York Times reports.

Public school employees are now required to complete a training course that includes "training in the protection of students from harassment, intimidation, and bullying, including incidents which occur through electronic communication." Employees must also report any incidents of bullying that they become aware of, regardless of whether the incident occurred in or outside of school. Those who do not will face disciplinary action.

Some districts are also struggling to comply with every piece of the legislation, particularly when a costly implementation comes without additional funding. Moorestown schools Superintendent John Bach told Moorestown Patch that while the regulations are well intended, it "architecturally was put together hastily."

"It's messy. It has a lot of layers. When you have that kind of seismic change, it usually takes a little while to figure out how it works … it's not going to be the work of a day," Bach told Patch. "Like many things, the state requires us to take action, but does not provide us more money."

The "Bill of Rights" charges districts with determining a procedure for students to report acts of bullying, and a way for students to report anonymously -- though those who choose to anonymously report an incident resign the guarantee of formal disciplinary action. Students who are found to have bullied others face suspension or expulsion.

The policy at Ridgewood's school district, where Clementi was a student, states that patterned bullying could reach responses at the level of formal law enforcement, if necessary.

At East Hanover schools, students can anonymously report instances of bullying to the police through a Crimestoppers hot line, according to The Times. East Hanover's Board of Education has also posted a three-page student code of conduct and a seven-page Bullying Incident Report Form, which also permits anonymous tips.

"For anonymous reporting, the district may consider locked boxes located in areas of a school where reports can be submitted without fear of being observed," East Hanover's anti-bullying policy states.

Did New Jersey go too far with this law, or is it appropriate and necessary action? Chime in below.

Comments

[rwilli1972]

08:56 PM on 09/13/2011

Bullying in Schools http://www.perspectivestv.com/shows/episodes/55-episode-6-bullying-in-schools

[Sara Potler]

07:44 PM on 09/09/2011

Dance 4 Peace could not be more excited about The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, Seth Law’s, and other policies leading the way to make schools safer for young people. These policies are long overdue; certainly, the loss of young lives in the past several years is a testament to that fact. We can debate about costs and added burden on educators and administrators, but what does this really mean when we are talking about saving lives? No child deserves to feel unsafe in his or her school and community. As educators, parents, and administrators, it is our obligation to protect our students, so that they can learn and grow without fear of bullies and school violence. Now more than ever, we need innovative ways to prevent violence, and these policies pave the way to finding solutions.

[terribyte]

04:28 AM on 09/09/2011

That hardball segment was embarrassingly bad.
If anything is picked apart to the nth degree, and the minutia dissected to ridiculous levels, there's going to be speculation, doubt and an inevitable discussion that deals more with semantics than common-sense.

It's high time bullying is given the same legal consideration as other crimes.
There's been a long standing, but unwritten, rule that bullying is a right of passage for some to dish out, and others to take it.

The fact that bullying, by definition, victimizes those in their formative years should be enough incentive to take it as least as seriously as when adults act against each other in the same mean-spirited manner.

I'm all for handing responsibility over to police and the judicial system - only because school officials, administration and teachers are so incredibly inept and untrained at dealing with the problem, unfortunately a quarter-million dollar DVD/booklet isn't going to help - unless you're the one cashing the check.

[Grouchland]

11:47 PM on 09/08/2011

I actually think that the Big Bully Himself is trying to help. But, when the bully gets "in trouble" the real question is what will happen? Honestly, I am old because I remember when the bullies used to kill the "tattlers". Maybe we ought to consider that we can truely do more harm than good. I know that this law was created after A SUICIDE but I just hope that it does not create something worse than bullying. in Reality, a school cannot control what happens outside of school. They cannot stop cyber bullying or texting on off school hours.

[Larsami1]

06:14 PM on 09/16/2011

If we can curb it in schools, then that's a good start and hopefully will continue when they are away from school. Laws are made after sex offenders abuse kids, so why not bullying also? Bullying is a form of child abuse.

[Grouchland]

10:00 PM on 09/16/2011

I agree with you that bullies are abusive. But, how do you blame a child for doing what children do? Human nature just is.... it has always been and always will be. There is nothing really different... just the tools being used. I would say that the Palistinians are bullies but others would say that the Israels are. Who is right depends on who you identify with. Right and Wrong are relative to your point of view. There are clear cut situations of violence but most of the time bullies are just fighting for what they see as right and they are not alone in it.

[RealRap]

03:38 PM on 09/22/2011

Do you mean kill literally in this context? The purpose of a school is to education children to become good citizens. Constant distraction from emotional harassment make that an impossibility, and permitting it is endorsing a clear instance of bad citizenship. Pull them out of the classroom, the lunchroom, etc. Deny them the opportunity to learn. If they don't wisen up, they will become the undercaste in adulthood, and that is where they will belong. Also bullies should be sent to in school counselors to see if they have some major psychological problems and be taught better coping mechanisms. The bullied should also be offered counseling assistance.

[Grouchland]

10:34 PM on 09/22/2011

Do you honestly think that there are not all of these things being done already? Every single thing you have said I have seen tried in many combos. When we look back in time to when bullies were "undercaste" they did unfortunately kill others. I also disagree with your definition of a purpose of a school. Schools are there to educate not babysit.

[walkeraza]

01:35 PM on 09/08/2011

To me, the problem with all this hasty action on "bullying" is that we have no shared definition of what that words mean. Research shows that kids and adults define it differently, so who knows if we are talking about the same things. Is it when a child hits another? Or calls them names? Or only when they call them names repetively? Only when there is a power inbalance or anytime anyone calls another person a nickname they don't like? What about if someone doesn't invite everyone in the class to a birthday party? What if only one child is excluded from the invitation?

The social life of children is as complex as that of adults. Instead of hastily trying to fix a problem we have yet to define properly, I think we should be thinking about long-term ways to educate the whole child, where at school and at home character education is part of our curriculum and our practices.

[Spaceninja]

09:00 PM on 09/23/2011

There is a difference between being called a name in general and having a peer indulge in a systematic campaign to defame you in order to enhance their own popularity.

[Shirley Marie Sosa]

12:09 PM on 09/07/2011

I am a mother of two girls and just like i would not let them bully others i wont allow anyone bully my children either. The hell with that. People might call this law to strict but think of how many kids are going to feel more secure. Good job!

[smiged21]

01:01 PM on 09/07/2011

It's a false sense of security though.

[Larsami1]

06:16 PM on 09/16/2011

It's a good start though.

[PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS]

12:04 PM on 09/07/2011

A bullying tale that parents should take not of.....................

My best friend in grammar school.was Kyle, he was about four foot nothing. Kyle was an adorable little kid who everytime he spoke a rainbow poured out of his mouth with unicorns riding it! :p There was not an ounce of "butchness" in that kid. His parents realized early on that Kyle was going to be a target for bullys. They never made any attempt to make him "act normal" or change the amazing little kid he was in any way.................

Instead they enrolled him in martial arts training and by age nine, Kyle had earned several advanced degree belts. Very few things to this day in my life have ever given me more pleasure than a dumbask bully usually at least twice his size laying on his back after Kyle sent him crashing to his butt in a nano second. After the stars he was seeing slowed down, Kyle would always advise them the same thing: "You have just gotten your first and only warning, you ever pick on anyone else and I am going to act as stupid as you do"..........

[Shirley Marie Sosa]

12:14 PM on 09/07/2011

That is great that his parents did that for him. =)

[Ossit]

10:59 PM on 09/06/2011

crakrman79 Didn't he teach them to cheat based off the antics of Bill Belechek? :D when I posted about Jaime Escalante teaching his Hispanic students everyone thought were stupid Calculus.

The movie covered that very issue.School administrators, the principal, the testers, the teachers EXCEPT for Jaime Escalante all thought these kids couldn't do crap. Escalante demanded a re-test to clear his students accused of cheating after all that hard work of class room teaching, contract signing enforced summer school, and class tutoring IN Escalante's home that he was under no obligation to do but WANTED to.

Completely new Calculus tests were put in a vault far from the school. Escalante taught even harder Calculus. The test was conducted NOT in the school, but right at the testing facility where the tests were taken out of a vault at test time. No one was allowed to sit next to each other this time to avoid the mistaken first time cheating.

Close to the last scene waited the school principal and Escalante who couldn't even sit still he was so anxious for those test results. The principal read the student names and higher scores right in front of Escalante who proved his students weren't as stupid as everyone hoped. People should get "Stand And Deliver".

Pity other teachers, administrators and the principal had such low expectations and tried to convince Escalante he was wasting his time. Escalante refused to give up on his students, he trusted, befriended them.

[MyrtleJune]

04:26 PM on 09/06/2011

Being that Christie is himself a bully, I find this amazing. And further, it needs to address the ADULT bullying that takes place in workplaces such as schools and hospitals, which are known to have the highest workplace bullying rates. It's no wonder the school districts are dumbfounded on how to implement it for the children. These children learn this behavior both at home and at school.

Good luck NJ!!!!

[lucyfurr]

01:10 PM on 09/06/2011

This is outstanding. In many ways this reinforces certain key aspects of The Golden Rule while holding kids as well as those in authority accountable. In the bigger picture I'm finding those against this law believe that it will weaken our culture from a competitive standpoint- which is the backbone of Capitalism. Historically- part of being a successful capitalist is also being an outstanding bully. Even our stock market uses the "BULL"y phrase. Over 25 years ago George Bush 1's motto was "A Kinder Gentler Nation". I don't know where that came from but I think it's high time we live up to it.

[crakrman79]

03:06 PM on 09/06/2011

Yes lets turn all our children into androgynous whiney morons. This way, we can avoid war because we will just bow down to the rest of the normal world which understands life isnt all butterflies and puppy dogs. If somone is so mentally feeble that what somone says will put them over the edge then we're better off without them. The example used wasnt even a child but an adult college student! You can't legislate "can't we all just get along" nor should we be trying in these times. Just another bait and switch to get the spotlight off the real issues lawmakers should be tackling.

[Larsami1]

06:27 PM on 09/16/2011

Bullying needs to stop at all school levels. The example used was regarding a human life. If we can stop bullying at the elementary level, then there's a better chance of it not spreading to the college level. Lawmakers will always use the bait and switch, but I agree with this one. Nobody should be pushed into suicide because of senseless bullying.

[Spaceninja]

09:08 PM on 09/23/2011

I don't think you understand the implications of how systematic bullying can be at a time when you are forming your identity. This isn't about occasional name calling but systematic campaigns to defame children across all social avenues. It is cruelty for sport, and encouraging that would make our civilization twisted and evil. No one is talking about avoiding war; we're bringing the war to the bullies.

[siciliabel]

11:37 AM on 09/06/2011

There are (at least) two problems that this law is trying to address. The first is the attitude that many teachers, administrators and parents have that bullying is a part of childhood and essentially, must be endured. They may not be explicit in their opinions, but they exist, nevertheless. It doesn't seem as if these adults address bullying with much enthusiasm, not the least reason being that they don't necessarily recognize or acknowledge when they see it.

Second, technology is far faster in its ability to allows bullying than any law seems able to keep abreast with it. There is no doubt that the two "people" who broadcast the encounter involving Tyler Clementi are despicable, but that the law didn't understand or address the legality of the invasion of his privacy using this technology was unfortunate, to say the least, and needs to be addressed.

[Ossit]

09:42 PM on 09/05/2011

Tulipps said: You hav no kids. Wait till you have kids then talk. The only reason the two year old stopped because you are not his mother and everyone knows that children will aways be more afraid of strangers than their own parents.

Ohhhhhhhh I see. So because I have no kids, and what I did worked you still fight it. I handled three spoiled kids long before the two-year-old, all bigger than me, and my deceased beloved's spoiled six foot very muscular 15-year-old at the time who was a high school wrestler with a record of fights without yelling or threats and I handled special kids who didn't know their own strength at a camp school where I was one of the teachers who were touchier than I am. Don't tell me I can't handle kids because I'm no parent.

. No one would hit someone else's child.

No? Well that toddler's grandma said I could do "anything". She practically raised "Booger" because his mom was always out partying and his deadbeat dad left when the kid was born.

[Tulipss]

02:10 PM on 09/07/2011

I didn't say you can't handle kids because you are not a parent. I said you were able to handle them because you are not their parent. Kids test their parents more because they live with their parents and are more familiar so they are less afraid of them. Don't you remember being a kid and listening to your teacher more than to your mother?. I also have two boys, if you are a woman and you've never had boys, you wouldn't understand that boys are stubborn and much more disobedient than girls are.

[Larsami1]

07:44 PM on 09/16/2011

There's many parents that would disagree. Especially with sexual based claims. True boys are stubborn, but many girls know their power and will use it to get their way. If a boy claimed sex abuse, it wouldn't get near the attention that a girl's would. Every family is different. Some families the boys are worse than the girls and other families it's visa-versa. A lot has to do with how they were raised and the company they keep.

[Ossit]

08:43 PM on 09/05/2011

No, Tulipss, YOU think a light slap is a little sting for them. You're projecting your perception. Some parents hit hard and call it a little slap. I got through to a two-year-old saying only a one thing. I stopped his howling and wanting to unbutton my pants. He understood very well and I said it conversationally. There was something he sensed where he realized not to push it and he was spoiled rotten. I used no screaming no hitting, he got it instantly. I listened to dad because a)he found one simple explanation b)all the other times he yelled about it I turned off and he got nowhere c)he made the effort to not stick with what didn't work because it was easier.

Yeah your kid is testing you by wanting a debate. Don't give him one. State the one you want and walk away and let him think about it. Take the wind out of his sails. Will it work? Maybe maybe not. If it doesn't work you at least tried something other than threats and yelling. I don't have another answer nor will I fake one. Know-it-alls fake it. I don't. Take the suggestion or don't.

But I think the arrogance of we're all not pieces of crud without value shouldn't be used. You can either try something different or you stay with what's not working. I learned that much from Dr. Phil who IS a child psychologist.

[Ossit]

07:47 PM on 09/05/2011

What is it about child raising that makes parents so all darn smart about? What, I have to have kids in order to sympathize when they cry and try to find a reason without yelling and screaming? Do I have to be a parent in order to like or even love a kid? What, I had to be a teacher in order to help with math or reading at a camp I worked at? I wasn't and I did learn.When what I tried didn't work I was told it's not the kid it's you, this is what you do. I was still allowed to teach and learned a lot about elementary education and not to blame the kid. I don't need a college degree or have 20 kids to learn and practice things or give advice that can be taken or left.

[Tulipss]

02:23 PM on 09/07/2011

Parents know their own children unlike strangers who don't live with them. What's best for your child might not be best for mine. Children have different personalities and some forms of punishment might work for some and for some it might not.

[Grouchland]

11:48 PM on 09/08/2011

So true! God trusts moms why don't we?

[Ossit]

06:51 PM on 09/05/2011

Anyone ever hear of Jaime Escalante? He's a real teacher who was a Calculus teacher in an inner city Hispanic school in California. He had a 'special' class where everyone thought dumb kids should be. One board member had no expectations of the kids. They're minority. They're Hispanic. They can't do anything. Well he taught these kids Calculus. Got one kid out of a gang. He worked with his kids on the standard testing. They all passed and there was a big controversy because everyone thought these kids were just too stupid to pass anything and the test was done over and the kids got higher scores.

This was another teacher who gave a damn. He didn't do time. His kids came to his house to do math skills and study for the exam. The lady board member was outraged that Mr. Escalante was proving that these kids were capable of not only doing higher math but could go on to college. This board member resigned because she was resentful that the status quo was being changed. How dare Mr. Escalante prove that students weren't stupid. How dare he turn out class after class of Calculus whizzes who went off to college! How dare he prove that caring matters. I believe it was called Stand and Deliver. Lou Diamond Philips and Edward James Olmos were in it. One day I'll buy the movie.

Off topic yes, but wanted share what I learned.

[crakrman79]

03:11 PM on 09/06/2011

Didn't he teach them to cheat based off the antics of Bill Belechek? :D

[Tulipss]

02:29 PM on 09/07/2011

This movie is fiction, not based on a true story. You have no idea if these kids can really pass calculus in real life. Most gang kids have low I.Q's to begin with that's why they end up in gangs. Most would not understand calculus even if it was explained to them a thousand times.

[Mile End]

02:43 PM on 09/07/2011

Your response is racist. These kids don't have low IQs, but they do have (1) poor nutrition, (2) low attention spans (see item 1), (3)low-education parents unable to help with homework, and (4) cumulative skills deficits after passing through one class after another wherein teachers didn't try hard enough.