Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
03/21/2014 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB45 | |
| HB365 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 45 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 365 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 45-ELECTRONIC BULLYING IN SCHOOLS
HB 45-ELECTRONIC BULLYING IN SCHOOLS
8:04:49 AM
CHAIR GATTIS announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 45, "An Act relating to harassment, intimidation,
or bullying by students attending a public school in the state."
8:05:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MIA COSTELLO, Alaska State Legislature, as
sponsor, stated that HB 45 would provide a definition change to
add "electronic" to bullying and harassment in schools. As a
mother, former teacher, and elected official, she has noticed
our society has a huge dependence on electronic devices. This
bill would acknowledge that electronic communication occurs
among students.
8:06:24 AM
SARAH PAGE, Staff, Representative Mia Costello, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the prime sponsor, provided a section-
by-section analysis of HB 45. She stated Section 1 will remove
"whether verbal or physical" from AS 14.33.220(b) and not
specifying those actions would mean "bullying" would apply to
any type of bullying action, including cyberbullying. Section 2
would add "electronic communication" as a possible form of
harassment.
8:07:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether this bill will specifically
cover Facebook.
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO answered that HB 45 does not
specifically identify Facebook and does not address student use
of Facebook.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX, with respect to electronic bullying,
asked whether the bill attempts to make conduct by a student
punishable that is not otherwise illegal, such as making
disparaging remarks via electronic media. She clarified she was
referring to non-threatening comments students might make, such
as continued disparaging comments calling someone ugly and fat.
She maintained concern about the school district regulating
electronic off campus remarks by students.
8:10:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO directed attention to Section 1 that
requires a school employee, student, or volunteer who has
reliable information or who witnesses student harassment to
report it.
8:11:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether an expression of dislike
constitutes bullying.
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO referred to proposed Sec. 2, which read
"(2) " harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means an
intentional written, electronic, or oral communication, or
physical act, when the communication or act is undertaken with
the intent of threatening, intimidating, harassing, or
frightening the student."
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether a statement that "I don't
like Suzy," could constitute bullying.
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO responded that if HB 45 passed, that a
person would need to use his/her judgment and would need to
report behavior to school authorities if he/she thought the
behavior fit the definition and the administration would
subsequently decide if the behavior warrants action. She noted
some schools have bullying policies.
8:13:06 AM
CHAIR GATTIS remarked that this bill raises a good conversation
about bullying. She noted how bullying can have lasting effects
and the importance for others to become involved.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III acknowledged the importance of the
issue. He asked if her research identified other ways parents
can get support to stem bullying that happens outside of the
school.
MS. PAGE suggested that if the bill passed parents could report
electronic communication to the school as a means of providing
evidence of bullying.
8:16:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX acknowledged that serious consequences can
occur when someone is bullied; however, the First Amendment
[under the U.S. Constitution] rights related to freedom of
speech allows people to be "pretty mean to people" so long as
the person doesn't step over a certain line. The schools have
the leeway to be more restrictive; however, attempting to curb
behavior outside of the school realm may not be plausible. She
said she has some problems with this type of restriction.
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO appreciated her taking this seriously.
She said she does, too. However, not recognizing electronic
devices in statute ignores that society uses electronic
communication. She pointed out that oral or written
communication is addressed in existing statute. She maintained
that it is important for adults in schools noticing bullying to
have the responsibility to report it to the school. The intent
of HB 45 is to encourage a positive culture in the school
system. Legal remedies exist if behavior rises to that level
and the bill acknowledges that if oral and written behavior that
harasses and intimidates people must be reported, then similar
behavior using modern devices should also be reported.
8:19:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON related his understanding that the bill
addresses a student being harassed, not the person harassing the
student. Thus, the bill would require a person report that a
student has been harassed. He asked whether this interpretation
is accurate.
MS. PAGE answered that the final aspect of Section 1 states
"shall report the incident" so she offered her belief that
actions on both sides would be considered.
8:21:09 AM
AMELIA VAZQUEZ-DAVIS, Student, AJ Dimond High School, stated she
is a sophomore at Dimond High School. She said a loophole
related to social media exists and needs to be closed and until
it is people will continue to be harassed. Other states have
also recognized this problem and have taken action. She
provided a number of statistics that demonstrated increased
occurrence of on-line bullying and highlights cyberbullying as a
problem. She has observed students being hurt and noted
depression as one outcome. She suggested that students see the
cyberbullying so it can enter the school and affect learning.
8:24:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked about the policy at Dimond High
School for smart phones and how that might affect cyberbullying
at school.
MS. VAZQUEZ-DAVIS answered that cell phone use is at the
discretion of the class teacher and some allow cell phone use
and others don't. She noted some students are text messaging
throughout the day so cyberbullying could certainly escalate.
In response to a question, she reiterated cell phone use is at
the discretion of each teacher.
CHAIR GATTIS pointed out modern cell phones are multi-use
devices that offer internet access.
8:26:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III suggested that if someone has been
adversely impacted by a communication that is evidence of
bullying. He related his understanding that this bill would
just add that students can be negatively impacted by "electronic
media" and not just oral and written communication.
8:27:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER said the statute clearly covers oral and
written, or physical acts, when the acts are undertaken with
intent. He inquired why the drafting doesn't just add
"electronic" instead of adding communication since "oral" is
also communication.
MS. PAGE answered that an electronic act could be a post, not a
direct communication. She suggested that an offensive blog post
would be different than a directed comment.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER suggested that a Facebook post would be
general versus a direct comment and asked whether it would be
covered under this provision.
MS. PAGE deferred to the drafter.
CHAIR GATTIS suggested that question could be answered later.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER aligned with the previously comments
regarding the First Amendment rights, which allows a certain
amount of offensive comments.
8:30:10 AM
CHAIR GATTIS offered her belief that cyberbullying exists and it
is important to recognize the issue.
8:30:53 AM
RON FUHRER, President, National Education Association of Alaska
(NEA), testified in support of HB 45, paraphrasing from a
prepared statement, which read, as follows:
Cyberbullying occurs in the shadows, whether on-line,
on Facebook, by text message, or some other means. It
can be more difficult to detect and prevent than more
conventional forms of bullying. Teachers and
educational support professionals are the first lines
of defense in stopping cyberbullying in schools.
Cyberbullying carries over to the classroom. Only one
in ten victims will inform a parent or trusted adult
of their abuse. The consequences of cyberbullying are
significant and cause significant emotional and
psychological distress. Like other forms of bullying
cyberbullied kids experience fear, low self-esteem,
depression and anxiety.
Cyberbullying victims also experience some unique
consequences such as feeling overwhelmed, vulnerable,
powerless, exposed, humiliated, isolated, and even
disinterested in life. Bullied victims are two to
nine times likely to consider suicide. According to
Pew Research, one-third of all teenagers who have used
the Internet have been the target of some form of
cyberbullying. Some research shows that nearly 43
percent of kids have been bullied on-line and one in
four more than once. Seventy percent of students
report seeing frequent bullying on-line.
Cyberbullying is unacceptable. The only way to bring
cyberbullying out of the shadows is a community effort
by teachers, parents, administrators, and other
students to send a clear message that cyberbullying
will not be tolerated. This bill, HB 45, is a first
step towards ensuring that Alaska's students can
attend school in a safe-learning environment, free
from the threats of cyberbullying. Please support HB
45.
8:33:25 AM
MIKE COONS testified in opposition to HB 45, paraphrasing from a
prepared statement, which read [original punctuation provided]:
I oppose HB 45. Let me talk first on Sections 1 and
2.
Section 1, do you mean to tell me that school staff
don't intervene now? Why should a student have to
report? What happens if a student doesn't and if any
"discipline" and why? Then at what "level" is this
talking about? What is the objective definition of
harassment, intimidation or bullying? Very subjective
depending on the viewer and when they see it.
Heck it could be the intended "victim" intimidating
back to stop the "[bully's]" behavior. It could be
the "victim" fighting back and winning over the bully!
Then of course, with this as a "guideline" the bully
becomes the "victim" and the intended "victim" gets
the punishment!
Section 2 (2), again determination depends on the
viewer as I just stated.
In reading the proposed text, I am not impressed. If
this is being proposed because of the cyber bullying
in the Lower 48 that made national headlines, this
does little to nothing to deter such actions that lead
to death of the victim. This is why we have kids that
are bullied who have no skills turn to [have] ramped
up violence disproportionally over the problem. This
is why we have kids with low esteem, who have nowhere
to go that really matters to them!
In reviewing the wording, it is subjective at best and
with the history of the courts, I don't believe a
person on trial in a juvenile court would be found
guilty for "fear of physical injury, severe mental or
emotional injury, or damage to the person's property".
8:35:02 AM
MR. COONS continued to read from prepared remarks,
[original punctuation provided]:
How to prove the "victim" had that level of fear or if
they suffered "mental or emotional injury"? I'm sure
any number of psychiatrists could come up with
differing views as the "victims" level of "fear, or
mental or emotional injury", both for the defense and
prosecutor.
Based on the above, this is one more law that will be
either misused or ignored; we have enough of those
already and I'd love to see time spent to repeal such
laws that don't work and done for "emotion".
Let me end with this. Why don't we at the community
level, not legislative level, do something that makes
a real difference? Why don't we teach not to be a
victim? The NRA has a course "Refuse to be a Victim",
this is about 95% on mental attitude, verbal options
or "verbal judo", situational awareness, simple
methods of defense then upping defense with non-lethal
to lethal. This is mostly taught to women and has a
huge impact and high success rate. When I was a kid,
I was 6 months younger and quite a bit smaller than my
peers. My Dad always told me to never throw the first
punch, if I could, walk away, but if I had to fight,
fight to the finish and don't come home crying, then I
would get his discipline, a boot on my rear end. I
walked away many times, and called a coward for it. I
also stood up to bully's and got the second swing in.
I lost more than I won over the years, but no bully,
bullied me more than once after we got into it. For
[bullies] don't like to get hurt! They can dish it
out, but can't take it. Plus they know that they may
have won this time, they might not be so lucky the
second time. My last fight was in the 11th grade,
that one I won and won big and my PE teacher let it go
on to the end. He told me years later he did that
because he had never seen me win! What did this do
for me as an adult? It taught me to stand for myself
and not be a "victim" and to be in control of my life.
Legislation like this and others is so much fluff and
makes the progressives feel good that we are "doing
something", when we are really doing what progressives
really want, a public dependent on the government and
others, vs a public that takes personal responsibility
for themselves.
Do not pass this bill.
8:37:41 AM
CHAIR GATTIS closed public testimony on HB 45.
8:38:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON commented that the bill has brought an
important clarification to be able to take effect if a student's
education is being interrupted or threatening happens in the
learning environment. He pointed out the statute is in AS
14.33, which is public schools and the bill does not mean the
crime warrants police action, but it is important for district
action in terms of school policy.
CHAIR GATTIS recognized that some districts currently have
specific policy in place.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referred to page 1, line 5 to the
requirement that bullying policy currently addresses someone
must report bullying happening or a victim being bullied. He
pointed out current law requires reports of bullying so this
just expands it to include electronic bullying.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked to have a representative from the
Department of Law available to clarify First Amendment issues.
[HB 45 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 45A.PDF |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| SPONSOR STATEMENT FOR HB 45.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| sectional analysis.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 Letters of Support.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 fiscalNote.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| HB365A.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| HB 365 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| HB365 - referred AK Statutes.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| HB365 - UA Degrees list.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| HB 365 fiscalNote - DEED 2990.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| HB365 fiscalNote -DEED-2796.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |
| Bullying_and_Cyberbullying_Laws.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 Letters of Support.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 45 |
| HB 365 Letters of Support.pdf |
HEDC 3/21/2014 8:00:00 AM |
HB 365 |