Bullying is wrong. Everyone involved in the lives of our youth including teachers, school principals and coaches, should do what they can to eliminate it.
But the anti-bullying bill making its way through the Legislature threatens to become a bureaucratic monstrosity that will simply waste precious resources that ought to be spent on academics.
Some want to take a problem that can and should be addressed with common sense, and lard the solution with endless definitions, programs and policies. The bill that passed the Senate would codify every idle word or facial expression that might come from students; and tries to list every possible place where bullying would be forbidden, as well as every method or piece of equipment that could be used to bully someone or create a "hostile environment."
But when the House Ways and Means Committee this week attempted to remove some of the excess verbiage, it was immediately attacked by the Anti-Defamation League and others of "watering down" the bill.
Significantly lacking in both versions, on the other hand, are any measures that would make parents accountable for the actions of their bullying children. Instead, most of the burden is placed on the schools, which don't have full-time control over children — at least not yet.
Most kids and adults know the difference between teasing and serious bullying. The response to bullying in school should of course be to intervene and take the offender to the principal's office. Or, if the bullying was violent, call the police — and parent.
There are already laws in place that prohibit assault, harassment and stalking. Those truly committed to stopping bullying should make use of them.
The anti-bullying bill satisfies demands that the state "do something" about a serious problem that in a few, well-publicized cases, have caused young people to take their own lives. But while the schools can play an important role in addressing this, the burden of preventing bullying behavior cannot rest on teachers and administrators alone.
