LANSING – State Representatives Aldo Vagnozzi (D-Farmington/Farmington Hills) and Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak) today called on the Legislature to pass an anti-bullying bill, which would establish wide-ranging and firm anti-bullying and anti-harassment standards for schools in the state.
"Bullying and violence don't belong in our schools, and we have take strong measures to make sure that our classrooms are places of learning, not places of terror and threats," Donigan said. "The last thing our students should worry about is being attacked."
The anti-bullying plan, called Matt's Safe School Law, would require schools to establish a locally determined strategy to reduce bullying. Parents, students, administrators, staff and teachers of a school will decide the specific contents of that school's policy. The plan defines bullying as any behavior against one or more students that involves actual physical harm or the fear of such harm, and results in emotional distress.
"Matt's Safe School Law" is named after Matt Epling, a young student who took his own life in 2002 after being assaulted by upperclassmen from his East Lansing school. Matt was 14 at the time and would have graduated from high school this year.
"Intimidation and fear have no place in our schools," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "To give our kids the world-class education they need, we need to make sure all schools are safe. I applaud Oakland County Democrats for supporting legislation to eliminate bullying from our schools."
More than 65 percent of Michigan students said they have been bullied or harassed in the previous year and 67 percent of those bullied said they did not report the incident to a teacher or staff, according to the 2003 National School Climate Survey.
"Nobody should have to go through what Matt Epling and his family went through," Vagnozzi said. "Our legislation will set standards to keep children safe."
According to a 2005 report on school climate in Michigan by Harris Interactive Inc., 35 percent of Michigan students indicate that bullying, name calling and harassment were serious problems in their schools and fewer than 37 percent of students felt safe in their schools.