Tennessee awarded the family of a special needs student who had been severely bullied over $300,000. And, even though Maryland dropped the ball when they had a chance to send a clear "ZERO TOLERANCE" message when they released the school administrators of responsibility in a similar suit, other states are making great progress in toughening their anti-bullying laws. That's great news going forward.
The recent suicide of Jacob Rogers, also in Tennessee, has sparked town hall meetings to push their lawmakers to toughen their laws. Also, over 1,700 people have signed an online petition to force their local government to toughen its laws. That's taking action!!!! Hopefully, every time we see one of these petitions, everyone will sign it. You don't have to live in Cheatham County. You only have to have a burning desire to see things change. That said, here's the link again.
In Iowa, a group called the Eychaner Foundation has launched an anti-bullying website for the state of Iowa. All incidences of bullying can be reported here, with the information sent to school administrators. Anyone can report an incident as it's occurring. That's a great tool. At the very least, it's a huge step in the right direction. Now, we need to see a similar website for every state.
One thing we know for certain: If nothing changes, nothing changes. I think we're beginning to see changes. It's a welcomed sight.
No comments:
Post a Comment