Delaware lawmakers take another step to curb bullying in schools

Parents and teachers agree that bullying either on the web or in school must stop. However, one problem with that is they don’t always know how serious the problem is.

Now there could be some better guidelines put in place that orders Delaware school officials to improve their tracking of allegations and incidents involving student bullying.
The Senate Education Committee in Dover, Wednesday, reviewed legislation that supporters said would provide schools, parents and students with information and resources about the problem of bullying and where to turn for help.
Deputy Attorney General Patricia Dailey Lewis, director of the Family Division, spoke in support of the bill. She said many parents are unaware that the Justice Department has an “ombudsman” to deal with reports of bullying.
In extreme cases, school bullying has led to serious physical injury or can lead a student to consider taking his or her own life.
“We need to do better by our children,” Dailey Lewis said.
The bill sponsored by State Representative Terry Schooley (D-Newark) would require that parents, students, faculty and school staff be provided with contact information for the school ombudsman, and that the phone number be displayed throughout schools. The Department of Education would be required to conduct random audits to ensure that schools are complying with bullying reporting requirements.
The dangers of cyber bullying was the topic of First last week on WHYY.