Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 106
03/16/2006 11:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| HB482 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 228 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 482 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
March 16, 2006
11:09 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mark Neuman, Chair
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Bill Thomas
Representative Les Gara
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Woodie Salmon
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 482
"An Act relating to harassment, intimidation, and bullying in
schools."
- MOVED CSHB 482(EDU) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 482
SHORT TITLE: SCHOOL:BULLYING/HARASSMENT/INTIMIDATION
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) ANDERSON
02/13/06 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/13/06 (H) EDU, HES, JUD
03/16/06 (H) EDU AT 11:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
LENA HENSLEY, Student
Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA)
Kotzebue, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke of her experiences at the academy.
DOROTHY WALKER, Student
Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA)
Holy Cross, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke of her experiences at the academy.
SARAH REAGIN, Student
Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke of her experiences at the academy.
CRYSTAL NOVOTNEY, Staff
to Representative Andersen
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 482 on behalf of
Representative Anderson, sponsor.
SARA VITASKA, Policy Associate
Education Program
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
Denver, Colorado
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 482 and provided
research information on the effects of bullying in schools and
the various responses by states to address this.
KATIE SINGLETON, Member
Bye-Bye Bullies
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 482.
DENNIS MALONEY, President
Bye-Bye Bullies
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 482.
TOM HARVEY, Executive Director
National Education Association-Alaska (NEA-Alaska)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 482.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR MARK NEUMAN called the House Special Committee on
Education meeting to order at 11:09:41 AM. Representatives
Neuman and Thomas were present at the call to order.
Representatives Gara, Gatto, and Lynn arrived as the meeting was
in progress. Representatives Salmon and Wilson were excused.
11:09:54 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the first order of business, [though
not calendared for today's meeting], would be to hear from
students attending a regional learning center in Galena until a
quorum of committee members is present.
11:10:13 AM
LENA HENSLEY, Student, Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA),
expressed her belief that the most important thing in life is
opportunity and "to excel, grow and survive." She explained
that the reason she attends a boarding school is because of her
wish to see more of Alaska and to learn about the cultures in
this state.
CHAIR NEUMAN asked if she was planning on attending college and
whether her experiences living in a dormitory environment will
be beneficial to her when she is in college.
MS. HENSLEY relayed that she does plan on attending college and
that learning to be on her own in the boarding school
environment, away from home and familiar faces, has been a good
experience for her.
11:12:33 AM
DOROTHY WALKER, Student, Galena Interior Learning Academy
(GILA), explained that her sister attended the school before her
and she had the chance to see how well her sister excelled in
the program. She said she likes her teachers and the well-
trained dorm staff and opined that there is more individual
attention given to students at the boarding school than those in
other school systems.
11:13:52 AM
SARAH REAGIN, Student, Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA),
relayed that her freshman year of home schooling set her back a
year and upon learning about GILA at a job fair, she decided to
attend this vocationally-oriented school to learn more about the
profession which interests her.
HB 482-SCHOOL:BULLYING/HARASSMENT/INTIMIDATION
11:15:07 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 482, "An Act relating to harassment,
intimidation, and bullying in schools."
11:16:4 AM
CRYSTAL NOVOTNEY, Staff to Representative Andersen, Alaska State
Legislature, paraphrased the following written sponsor statement
which read in part [original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 482 encourages school districts, city and
borough offices of education, law enforcement
agencies, and youth-serving agencies to develop and
implement interagency strategies. Some of the possible
programs may include in-service training programs and
other activities to improve school attendance and
reduce school crime and violence. HB 482 will reduce
vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, gang membership,
gang violence, hate crimes, bullying, teen
relationship violence, and discrimination and all
harassment, including sexual harassment, in grades K-
12.
Recent research studies suggest bullying has a
negative effect on the social environment of schools.
Bullying creates a climate of fear among students,
inhibits their ability to learn, and leads to other
anti-social behaviors.
MS. NOVOTNEY informed the committee that there are currently 21
states that have anti-bullying laws and Sara Vitaska from the
National Conference of State Legislatures would provide more
detail on this in her testimony. Ms. Novotney expressed her
belief that students should have the opportunity to learn in a
safe, educational environment.
11:17:40 AM
SARA VITASKA, Policy Associate, Education Program, National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), paraphrased her written
testimony which read in part:
Representative Anderson's office invited me to testify
before you all today. His office has asked me to
provide you with a general overview of anti-bullying
legislation and a summary of introduced bills from the
2005-2006 legislation session. In addition, I will
touch on a few components of anti-bullying policies,
including defining bullying, state level support,
public school reporting requirements, individual
reporting requirements and immunity, and training
opportunities for teachers and staff.
A growing body of research on the prevalence of school
bullying, the likelihood of school bullies to develop
anti-social behavior, and the impact of bullying on
its victims and the school climate have heightened the
issue. Anti-bullying legislation has been motivated,
at least in part, by a surge in school violence and
tragic school shootings at several U.S. high schools
in the late 1990's. In addition, a 2002 U.S. Secret
Service report, entitled, "Safe Schools Initiative,"
found that bullying played a major role in several of
the shootings. According to research published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association,
approximately 30 percent of American schoolchildren,
in grades 6 through 10, have been bullied or have
bullied other children "sometimes" or more often
within a semester.
A total of 21 states have enacted anti-bullying
legislation. To date, at least 24 states have
introduced anti-bullying legislation during the 2005-
2006 legislative session. Of those states, 16 are
considering anti-bullying policies and 6 are seeking
to amend their current anti-bullying statutes. During
the 2005 legislative session, 4 states - Arizona,
Indiana, Maine, and Tennessee - enacted anti-bullying
policies and 2 states - Arkansas and Virginia -
amended their existing anti-bullying statutes. This
analysis does not include states that have enacted or
are introducing harassment and intimidation policies
that do not specifically include bullying. Maryland,
Mississippi, and Nevada have enacted such policies.
There are several components of anti-bullying
policies, including: prohibiting bullying; defining
bullying; state-level support; school intervention
strategies; individual reporting and immunity; public
school reporting; parental rights; teacher and staff
training; prevention task forces and programs; and
integrated curriculum instruction.
A handful of states establish requirements for the
state board, department of education, or commissioner
of education to facilitate anti-bullying efforts in
the schools. State support in California, New Jersey,
Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia,
provides districts with model policy to assist them in
approving their own policies and programs. In
Washington, the superintendent of public instruction
has sole authority for policy development. School
districts in Washington were directed to adopt the
superintendent of public instruction's model policy or
amend an existing policy to be considered in
compliance. In Arkansas, the state board of education
must review every district's anti-bullying policies
and may recommend changes or improvements. And in
Oklahoma, the state department of education is
mandated to disseminate "a list of research-based
prevention programs" to every public school in the
state.
Some states' anti-bullying legislation contains
procedures for school districts to report incidents of
bullying. Colorado, Connecticut, and Virginia require
incidents of bullying to be made available to the
general public. Illinois, Maine, and Virginia have
guidelines in place to report certain incidents to
local law enforcement agencies relating to criminal
offenses committed by students. Similar to Colorado
and Connecticut, Vermont requires schools to collect
data on the number of reported incidents of bullying
and make the data available to the commissioner and to
the public. In addition, the commissioner must report
to the senate and house committees on education on
implementation of the policy. The report must include
pertinent data such as incidences of bullying gathered
by school districts. In Washington, each district is
required to report to the superintendent of public
instruction annually all bullying incidents that
result in a short or long-term suspension or expulsion
on school premises or on transportation systems used
by schools. The superintendent must compile the data
and report to the appropriate committees of the house
and senate.
MS. VITASKA informed the committee that some states either
require teachers and staff to report suspected bullying or
encourage [them] to do so. There are several states currently
amending existing anti-bullying policies, she relayed, and some
states, such as New Jersey, with proposed plans to reimburse
school districts for providing teacher training on [anti-
bullying prevention]. In conclusion, she highlighted that 16
states, including Alaska, have introduced legislation [to adopt
an anti-bullying policy] for the 2005-2006 legislative sessions.
11:23:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS, referring to incidences of teachers and
coaches bullying students, asked what is to be done in these
cases.
MS. NOVATNEY explained that parents, guardians, other committee
members, teachers, school officials, and anyone associated with
schools or school events "fall under this policy." She provided
an example of a parent bullying a team coach and said that the
parent would be held accountable as well.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS questioned what could be done in cases
where coaches yell at students during games and at practice.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN questioned whether [addressing bullying]
wasn't already the job of the schools.
MS. NOVATNEY agreed that this is a job the schools should be
doing and seems to be common sense. She relayed that many times
schools "turn the other cheek" and say that "kids will be kids."
She opined that when kids are under school care for six hours a
day, someone needs to step in to let kids know what is
acceptable behavior and what isn't. Proper training is needed
to help teachers deal with these situations, she said.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN expressed his belief that so much power has
been taken away from teachers and the school administration that
they have become powerless in dealing with even basic discipline
problems which were common in his generation. He relayed that
he was the subject of bullying throughout elementary school
which was a "terrible thing" but said he was not certain how
legislation could effectively solve this. He opined that the
civil authority exists to deal "with this type of thing" and
whereas he is opposed to bullying, he does not see how this
legislation will "fix" the problem of bullying.
11:30:33 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN expressed his concern about the effects of adding
more state mandates on schools and informed the committee that
he would like to propose a conceptual amendment to change the
words "shall" to "may" on page 1, lines 6-7, which reads:
... each school district shall adopt a policy that
prohibits the harassment, intimidation, or bullying of
any student. Each school district shall share this
policy ....
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN opined that this legislation adds another
layer of paperwork [for schools] "that takes away the time of
teaching basic subjects ... and supervising student behavior
which includes bullying."
CHAIR NEUMAN interjected that changing the words "shall" to
"may" would allow decision-making at the local level as to how
to address bullying.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN opined that it already is at the local level
where teachers fill out necessary paperwork, turn it in to the
principal, who then in turn forwards it on to the
superintendent.
CHAIR NEUMAN reminded the committee that this legislation "says
that [school districts] have to do it" and asked if there was
any objection to Conceptual Amendment 1. Hearing none,
Amendment 1 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked if there are any circumstances where
bullying is beneficial.
MS. NOVATNEY relayed her understanding that bullying is not
beneficial, but she would research the possibility.
11:32:47 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO compared levels of "bullying" from
kindergarten, where one child might take a crayon from another
child, to high school, where a coach is verbally and physically
abusive to a student and asked, "Is that bullying?"
MS. NOVATNEY expressed her belief those would be forms of
bullying.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO questioned again whether one child taking a
crayon from another child would indeed be considered bullying.
He suggested that some form of conflict is desirable when
growing up to help individuals tolerate society. He relayed
that whereas he doesn't mind saying bullying should be dealt
with to some degree, he is not in favor of saying, "... we can't
have bullying, because I don't know what [the parameters of
bullying are]."
MS. NOVATNEY, referring to the crayon example, stated her
agreement that the incidence could be viewed as students
learning a life lesson or possibly viewed as interfering with
learning. She opined that there is a difference in a
kindergartner swiping a crayon to a situation where a high
school student throws another student against a locker.
CHAIR NEUMAN referred to language in the bill regarding those to
be involved in creating anti-bullying policies, page 1,
subsection (b), lines 9-11, which reads as follows:
The policy must be adopted through a process that
includes representation of parents or guardians,
school employees, volunteers, students,
administrators, and community representatives.
11:35:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN referred to his experience in basic training
in the military where a lot of bullying occurred and where "they
tear you down and build you up." He expressed his belief that
this experience has helped him deal with challenges at work and
that "bullying is not necessarily bad."
11:37:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, in trying to envision a contained, bully-
free environment, asked if those leaving this environment would
be better because of that experience.
MS. VITASKA highlighted that research on prevention programs
shows bullying incidences can be reduced by over 50 percent.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said he did not argue whether there are
some benefits to this. He referred to his experience of
attending high school with 6,000 other boys where bullying was
"rampant" and suggested that his experience with this may have
benefited him professionally, "learning how to succeed in spite
of what other people wanted." He questioned whether this would
be the case had he grown up in a relatively bully-free
environment. He posed the question as to whether the classroom
environment wasn't designed to help students become smarter,
more socialized and to recognize that bullying exists - "[if]
you don't like it, then you learn how to avoid it."
11:41:27 AM
KATIE SINGLETON, Member, Bye-Bye Bullies, paraphrased the
following written testimony which read [original punctuation
provided]:
I would like to strongly disagree with some of the
testimony regarding bullying. Bullying is bad. The
experts agree that nothing good comes from bullying.
30% of bullies actually grow up to be criminals.
Bullying in schools is a concern of mine. I was
bullied in second grade at a private Catholic school
in the Midwest. I cried myself to sleep every night
and dreaded going to school the next day.
My oldest child will be starting school in the fall.
He is small for his age and I'm concerned that he will
have to endure the same trauma I did as a child.
I am happy to see that our legislators are concerned
enough about this issue to include it in their debate.
We NEED to have a requirement for schools to take
responsibility for the safety of our children, and
that includes policies against bullying and
harassment.
As a member of the organization Bye-Bye Bullies, I
have heard presentations and read papers by many of
the nations bullying experts.
The bully experts seem to all agree that school
surveys are the best place to start.
Teachers don't know where the problems are because
children hide the bullying from them.
Schools have different problems, different physical
layouts and other aspects that require some questions
to be included or not included on a survey. These
surveys are then used to determine which programs
might work best for a particular school.
Something that I believe needs to be included in this
bill is a provision for mandatory surveys of all
students and staff.
These surveys should be done prior to finalizing any
specific program for a school.
Surveys should also be conducted periodically to
determine how the programs are working.
Previous studies show an increase in bullying the
first year this is due to an increase in awareness
and then reports of bullying decline in following
years.
This is good legislation. Schools need this guidance.
This legislation is needed.
11:44:45 AM
DENNIS MALONEY, President, Bye-Bye Bullies, explained that he
helped found this organization and is a practicing attorney in
Anchorage as well. He highlighted that the first national
conference on bullying was held in Anchorage two years ago where
nine experts spoke on the subject. He relayed that surveys
taken at the middle schools in the Anchorage School District
showed that 10 percent of the students are afraid to go to
school every day because of possible intimidation and
harassment. He opined that this results in students "looking
over their shoulders rather than focusing on their education."
He informed the committee that the bullying programs presented
at the conference in Anchorage, though varied in methodology,
have resulted in a reduction in bullying incidences as much as
50 percent the first couple years of program operation and on to
a 75 percent reduction for following years. A reduction in
property damages in schools was also noted, he said. He then
relayed the definition of a bully provided at the conference by
Dr. Stuart Twemlow, Medical Director at the Menninger Clinic,
which is someone who repeatedly uses force, either physical or
non-physical, to shame, humiliate or dominate a victim and that
the "shame and humiliation" is what damages the ego of the
person being bullied. He opined that an effective anti-bullying
program will reduce the cost of education, reduce discipline
problems in schools, and increase the [self-worth] of students,
helping them become more productive members of society.
11:47:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, referring to Mr. Maloney's profession as
an attorney, asked whether passing this legislation would make
it easier for attorneys to sue successfully in court.
MR. MALONEY said this is not accurate. He relayed that he does
not wish to take any cases on bullying and that those reporting
incidences of bullying are immune from suit.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO rephrased his question to ask whether or
not it would be easier for an attorney to sue if we pass this
legislation.
MR. MALONEY said "no." In response to questions by
Representative Lynn, he explained that Bye-Bye Bullies is a
[Code] 501 (c)(3) [nonprofit corporation] with over 150 Alaskan
members.
11:51:15 AM
TOM HARVEY, Executive Director, National Education Association-
Alaska (NEA-Alaska), opined that one of the most important parts
of HB 482 is that it "provides a mechanism by which the schools
can produce a better climate where students can learn and
teachers can teach." He informed the committee that his written
testimony includes a list of available resources on the topic of
bullying, a topic that NEA-Alaska has been working on for over
ten years. He said that a large population of students are
affected by bullying and they don't [generally] come forward.
He highlighted that with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) there are
31 factors used in measuring a school's [accountability].
Attendance is one of those factors, he said, and it is affected
by the number of students who stay home from school because they
are bullied which in turn can contribute to a school's failing
under NCLB. "This bill will provide us with the mechanism for
which to change that," he opined. Additionally, bullied
students aren't usually in the frame of mind to perform well on
tests which may result in their "missing one of the three areas
of proficiency" and therefore contribute to another school
failing to meet NCLB accountability requirements. He opined
that it was important for people to review the available
resources on bullying and not allow personal experiences to
define what the bullying act is or is not. He also suggested
that educators use the available tools to address bullying "if,
as Representative Lynn points out, they're given the opportunity
to use them, versus all the barriers that have been put on
educators in order to ... maintain a good school climate."
11:54:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked whether better enforcement by the
administration and better support of teachers dealing with
bullies more effectively helps reduce bullying and other
behavioral problems.
MR. HARVEY said there are already policies in place to address
this and that when uniform standards are applied, the better the
school's performance. However, he noted that times have changed
and some of the conflict resolution techniques are not done
today. He opined that [anti-bullying] programs would provide
assistance in this regard.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN repeated his question on whether better
support of the administration of the classroom teachers would
help resolve the bullying issue and other disciplinary issues.
MR. HARVEY said that to some degree it would.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA referred to legislation from last year
sponsored by Representative Salmon which, he said, seemed
similar to this bill. He asked Mr. Harvey if he had any opinion
on the differences between the two.
MR. HARVEY said that an analysis had not yet been done, but he
would provide one.
11:56:11 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN determined there was no further public testimony
nor committee discussion.
11:56:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA moved to report HB 482, [as amended], out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes.
11:56:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN objected. He opined that though it's a
well-intended bill, laws to address bullying are already in
place. Furthermore, he said, teachers are already required to
fill out more "onerous paperwork," and less paperwork could
allow them more time to deal with student misbehaviors.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA relayed his understanding of the bill is
that it requires school districts to adopt policies to prevent
and remedy bullying and asked whether it required any specific
paperwork.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN expressed his belief that the bill requires
some paperwork.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO noted that the bill has an accompanying
fiscal note "so something has to be done."
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN maintained his objection.
11:58:03 AM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Thomas, Gara,
Gatto, and Neuman voted in favor of HB 482, as amended, out of
committee. Representative Lynn voted against it. Therefore,
CSHB 482(EDU) was reported out of the House Special Committee on
Education by a vote of 4-1.
11:58:45 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Education meeting was adjourned at 11:58
a.m.
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