CA Dem wants to make schoolyard bullying a federal offense

[chanel]

While the Department of Education continues its crackdown on mean-spirited taunting on Facebook, some members of Congress are joining the fight in Washington’s War on Bullying with a new bill aimed directly at kids who target students with disabilities.

“What I want to do is create an environment where there is zero tolerance."

Rep. Jackie Speier, California Democrat, will introduce a bill that would require schools to report incidents of bullying against children diagnosed with conditions like Down syndrome and Aspergers to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group.

Read more: Bullying | Federal Government | Bill Would Require Schools to Report Bullying to Federal Government | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Wow - how many federal employees will that department have to hire?

 

[Mad Scientist]

While the Department of Education continues its crackdown on mean-spirited taunting on Facebook, some members of Congress are joining the fight in Washington’s War on Bullying with a new bill aimed directly at kids who target students with disabilities.

“What I want to do is create an environment where there is zero tolerance."

Rep. Jackie Speier, California Democrat, will introduce a bill that would require schools to report incidents of bullying against children diagnosed with conditions like Down syndrome and Aspergers to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group.

Read more: Bullying | Federal Government | Bill Would Require Schools to Report Bullying to Federal Government | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Wow - how many federal employees will that department have to hire?

That's the whole point of this.

 

[California Girl]

Control freaks. I'm sick and tired of controlling politicians. That is not their job. Why can't they just do the fucking job we pay them to?

 

[FuelRod]

WTF? California can't handle it's own school yard bullies?
No wonder they can't stop the flow of illegal aliens crossing its border.
I'm thinking Nevada and Arizona should attack and annex.

 

[xsited1]

While the Department of Education continues its crackdown on mean-spirited taunting on Facebook, some members of Congress are joining the fight in Washington’s War on Bullying with a new bill aimed directly at kids who target students with disabilities.

“What I want to do is create an environment where there is zero tolerance."

Rep. Jackie Speier, California Democrat, will introduce a bill that would require schools to report incidents of bullying against children diagnosed with conditions like Down syndrome and Aspergers to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group.

Read more: Bullying | Federal Government | Bill Would Require Schools to Report Bullying to Federal Government | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Wow - how many federal employees will that department have to hire?

One of my children is on the autism spectrum so I can understand the concern. Most Private schools don't allow bullying so this is not an issue for my family. It sounds like what these Democrats are saying is that things are so bad at Public Schools that now they need a special federal agency to stop bullying (which, considering the history of public education in America, will undoubtedly fail). Obama knows this which is probably one reason he sends his kids to private schools. This should be yet another wake-up call that our public schools are in crisis and if you really care about your kids you'll reject the government's failure to provide a safe and effective educational environment. I just wish we could opt-out paying taxes for Public Schools.

 

[Immanuel]

Ca Dems are essentially school yard bullies themselves. Maybe what they really want is to have a head start on protecting their own?

Immie

 

[FuelRod]

My children go to public school and there is a zero tolerance policy on bullying. The cyber variety (facebook and social net) is another matter.
Sometimes a punch in the mouth is a good deterrent and necessary.
Possibly the number of incidents that have grown in recent years with school shooting and students bringing weapons to school, the zero tolerance policy is the reason. Minor conflicts tend to grow if you can't settle them.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Some people wonder why we spend more money, and get less results, than any other country in the world.

I don't.

 

[chanel]

NJ has the strictest "anti bullying law" in the country. And guess what? Kids are still mean. Most of the taunting takes place over the internet which teachers have no control over.
And every situation is different and should be handled differently. How the hell can the feds have any effect at all? Sounds like a gift to the lawyers. Again.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

NJ has the strictest "anti bullying law" in the country. And guess what? Kids are still mean. Most of the taunting takes place over the internet which teachers have no control over.
And every situation is different and should be handled differently. How the hell can the feds have any effect at all? Sounds like a gift to the lawyers. Again.

Because of the feds, we now have students being suspended for pointing fingers at other people. (Zero tolerance on weapons at school.) If they get involved in bullying we will see them getting suspended for saying things about their religious beliefs.

 

[chanel]

Yep. And personally I feel the same way about bullying as I do about sexual harrassment. It must be persistent and not a random comment but we all know how this shit gets people and lawyers all fired up. "Bullying" is the new buzz word. I can't tell you how many people I know who have used that word in the past few weeks. When a child is expelled from the "in crowd" it's bullying. When a kid is teased about a zit, it is bullyiing. Toughen up kids. Some day you may get offended and a grownup won't be there to fight your battles for you.

 

[Cain]

We had to watch a 2-part thing about bullying, and it was ridiculous. We have bullies here, but really, I have never seen a guy slam another guy with a dodge ball and them not fight it out. I don't know why, but it confuses me, why allow someone to physically assault you? At that point, even in my book, it's game on.

I also seen a thing in the video, talking about how guys shouldn't make fun of other guys who carry purses, I'm sorry, but if your a male and you carry a purse to school, you should be aware of what is going to happen before-hand. Not saying it's right to make fun of anyone, but that appears over the line.

 

[percysunshine]

"Rep. Jackie Speier, California Democrat, will introduce a bill that would require message board administrators to report incidents of bullying against posters diagnosed with conditions like liberalism and leftism to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group."

It is only a matter of time.....

 

[chanel]

I have a mixed grade reading class with one freshman who is very, very small. He looks like he's about 10 years old. The older boys teased him relentlessly in the beginning of the year, and I would get on my soap box and lecture them about the seriousness of bullying. Guess what? He loved the attention and now they all get along great. It was kinda a right of passage, and he passed the test. It was a judgement call on my part not to make a FEDERAL OFFENSE out of it, and I was right. In the future, I foresee teachers not wanting to make that call. Let the feds handle it.

 

[Ravi]

Not sure if the bill would make it a federal offense, but I agree this sounds stupid.

Bullying is bullying and bullies don't need the excuse of retardation to bully others.

btw, the dope above that believes private schools don't have bullies...

 

[Zoom-boing]

NJ has the strictest "anti bullying law" in the country. And guess what? Kids are still mean. Most of the taunting takes place over the internet which teachers have no control over.
And every situation is different and should be handled differently. How the hell can the feds have any effect at all? Sounds like a gift to the lawyers. Again.

Maybe not . . .

http://www.usmessageboard.com/general/159838-feds-teachers-to-stalk-your-kids-on-facebook-now.html

 

[California Girl]

Not sure if the bill would make it a federal offense, but I agree this sounds stupid.

Bullying is bullying and bullies don't need the excuse of retardation to bully others.

btw, the dope above that believes private schools don't have bullies...

I don't think it's that private schools don't have bullies, I think that, maybe, they have swifter and harsher methods of dealing with those bullies. That's more because they have greater freedom to deal with those kids immediately. The public school system can't do that because their hands are effectively tied.

Unfortunately, for the public schools, they probably get the bullies dumped on them because the private system won't keep them.... and someone has to at least try to educate the little thugs.

More than anything, I blame the parents.

 

[California Girl]

NJ has the strictest "anti bullying law" in the country. And guess what? Kids are still mean. Most of the taunting takes place over the internet which teachers have no control over.
And every situation is different and should be handled differently. How the hell can the feds have any effect at all? Sounds like a gift to the lawyers. Again.

Maybe not . . .

http://www.usmessageboard.com/general/159838-feds-teachers-to-stalk-your-kids-on-facebook-now.html

So, feds and teachers get more shit dumped on them. One has to ask.... where the hell are the parents of these little brats? Why aren't their parents held accountable for what their kids do on the net?

 

[California Girl]

Yep. And personally I feel the same way about bullying as I do about sexual harrassment. It must be persistent and not a random comment but we all know how this shit gets people and lawyers all fired up. "Bullying" is the new buzz word. I can't tell you how many people I know who have used that word in the past few weeks. When a child is expelled from the "in crowd" it's bullying. When a kid is teased about a zit, it is bullyiing. Toughen up kids. Some day you may get offended and a grownup won't be there to fight your battles for you.

When I was at school (Catholic), there was a kid whose parents couldn't afford new uniforms so she came to school in what were clearly hand-me-downs... and yea, some kids did mock her for it. The parents got together and all sent their kids to school in hand-me-down uniforms. The mocking soon stopped... but the parents continued to send us to school in hand-me-downs because then she didn't stand out. It was fine.

The girl (she's a friend of mine) went to an Ivy League college, and now travels the world with her job.

 

[chanel]

Awesome. And while we read about extreme cases in the news, the truth is the stats are soooo inflated. Every one has felt bullied at some point. But most of us dealt with it. I've known two special ed kids who got their asses kicked by bigger kids. And while they played the victim, in both cases, they were the instigator. There are always two sides. I don't condone violence, but I can certainly understand it sometimes.

Barack Obama claims he was teased as a child for his big ears. And lo and behold he is mow the President of the United States. Maybe a little teasing made him tougher. Just sayin...