Poll: Will Anti-Bullying Changes Be Enough, Positive?
Christie proposed changes to the law, ruled unconstitutional by a state panel in January.
Gov. Chris Christie has proposed changes to the state's anti-bullying law, and districts would compete for as much as $1 million in aid if they are implemented.
According to a report by NJ.com, a seven-member task force would be created to establish the guidelines in implementing the changes. This comes after a the state Council on Local Mandates in January found the initial law, which went into effect in September, unconstitutional. The ruling is expected to take effect at the end of this month.
That law caused many school officials to say it was unnecessarily complex and districts can accomplish the same mission with less paperwork. After the ruling, the executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association said the association would welcome the opportunity to work with the state to design a process that has adequate state financial support and doesn't divert resources from other critical programs.
The new law, expected to be introduced today, comes in response.
Christie has said he believes it will need some work, with changes coming in response to reports from districts regarding their encounters.
With more information to come, we want to know what you think. What are your expectations based on the original law and what has been discussed about these new changes? Let us know in our poll, and tell us what you think in our comments section below.
NOTE: This poll appears on multiple Patch sites in Morris, Somerset nd Sussex counties. All comments may not be from residents of your town.
Laura Madsen
1:16 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
Here's what I think. I wrote a blog post on the subject in January on Patch: http://hillsborough.patch.com/blog_posts/picking-on-the-anti-bullying-laws
John Di Marco
12:34 pm on Friday, March 9, 2012
How about we go back to the tried and true, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me" and "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bouncing off of me and sticks to you"?
I am all for having laws against physical harm. However, trying to shield our children from unpleasentness will retard their maturity and make it more difficult to address and resolve conflicts as an adult.
Jacqueline
9:22 am on Monday, March 12, 2012
I believe that the work Chris Christie has been been doing as governer to combat school bullying is a necessary step in the right direction. It is necessary to protect children from mental and physical harm. However I do agree with the coment above, we must make sure that we do not compeltly shield children from unpleasentness because it is necessary for them to grow, mature, and learn from their mistakes.
Brian Kearney
12:59 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012
It is absolutely necessary, Jacqueline and John. High school kids are hanging themselves in their rooms and slittling their wrists in the bathrooms of their own homes due to them being bullied at school. A young man a few towns over from me just committed suicide, he wasn't even out of high school. how tragic? School president, outgoing, had a great group of friends, but he was allegedly bullied relentlessly, which eventually lead him to do what he did.
John Di Marco
11:28 am on Friday, March 16, 2012
While the incident you describe is both sad and tragic, the better remedy would be to teach kids how to deal with harrassment. Similar actions have been known to occur because of a failed test, a broken relationship, and other situations. We, as parents and educators, need to stop coddling our kids and better prepare them for the rigors of real life.
FourScore
11:57 am on Friday, March 16, 2012
So based on your logic, if a staff member of mine complained that she was being sexually harassed, the correct course of action is to tell her she just needs to learn how to deal with it???
FourScore
9:18 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012
Adults are also held legally accountable for their verbal actions via various harassment and intimidation laws. To teach kids that they can say anything they want and not suffer any consequences (ie; stick & stones) does not prepare them for the real world.
Madison Cyclist
12:47 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012
hookerman - what if your staff member complained she was being sexually harassed because you were reading the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue during your lunch break?
FourScore
1:54 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012
You're getting hung up on the technical definition of sexual harassment, and missing the bigger point. If we teach our kids that they should just deal with being bullied, then we are teaching them (and the kid who is doing the bullying) that there is no consequences to harassing behavior. This is not the way it works in the 'real world'.
John Di Marco
8:05 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012
As a parent, I teach my kids the proper way to treat everyone. In business, it is important for people to get along to achieve productivity and usually have policies to deal with any issue that may arise. However, each of us will interact with many, many people in all kinds of situations. We cannot run to the police, or a parent, or a boss to resolve all the problems we may encounter in life. It is necessary for our kids to build the fortitude needed to deal with the hurdles they will inevitably face.