Issue Position: Safe Schools Improvement Act

Issue Position

Students cannot learn when they are shamed, intimidated, or in fear for their physical safety. To help all children succeed in school, we must recognize that bullying is not just "kids being kids." It is harmful and damaging behavior that adults must take seriously. As part of my continuing efforts to reduce bullying and harassment in our schools, I was pleased to introduce the Safe Schools Improvement Act in 2007. Current federal law provides funds to promote school safety but does not expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment. As a condition of receiving future Safe Schools funding, the Safe Schools Improvement Act would require schools and districts to ensure that their codes of conduct specifically prohibit bullying and harassment and would require states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide reporting. The legislation would also allow schools to train faculty and staff on how to prevent bullying and address it effectively when it does occur. Parts of this bill were incorporated into the first draft of the NCLB reform and renewal bill. I look forward to continuing to work on the NCLB reform bill to ensure that it includes all of this important legislation.

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