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Cleveland Plain Dealer
School bullies would
face mandatory suspensions under two bills in Ohio legislature
September 26, 2017
By Patrick O'Donnell
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Schools need to stop ignoring bullying and take real
action to stop it, say two local state legislators who have proposed
separate new laws to curb the bad behavior.
State Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat, and State Rep. Dave
Greenspan, a Westlake Republican, have different approaches to their
bills. But both say they have had relatives bullied at schools and seen
schools do little to stop it or punish the bullies.
So each want schools to intervene faster and cut off bullying, not just
let it continue.
"I want kids to be able to concentrate on the work they do at school
and not worry about being beat up," said Williams, who wants to target
verbal and not just physical abuse. "We have students who are afraid to
go to school everyday. We need to nip this in the bud before it gets to
a physical altercation."
She added: "It's a problem that is happening in rural communities, not
just urban communities."
She has proposed in Senate Bill 196 a more clear definition of bullying
for the state and a system of escalating counseling and punishments in
S.B. 197 for each offense.
Greenspan, whose bill also covers hazing at colleges, takes a harsher
approach by mandating a suspension for a first offense. Bullies, he
said, need to be sent a clear message.
"Listen, what you've done is wrong," said Greenspan. "There is a
consequence for that."
Both bills were recently introduced and have not had any hearings yet.
Though bullying incidents nationally have fallen slightly in recent
years, the U.S. Department of Education reported two years ago that 22
percent of students between 12 and 18 years old had been bullied in the
past year at school.
Ohio considers bullying a serious issue, with the Ohio Department of
Education reminding districts just this week that October is National
Bullying Prevention Month and listing a series of resources for schools
and families.
But both Greenspan and Williams think state law does not go far enough.
Ohio law defines bullying as:
(a) Any intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a
student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once
and the behavior both:
(i) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student;
(ii) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates
an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for
the other student.
The law requires schools to have a policy for handling bullying that
must include "a procedure for responding to and investigating any
reported incident," but both Williams and Greenspan are bothered that
state law spells out no penalties.
Williams said state law also does not make bullying a separate crime,
aside from some offenses counting as crimes like assault or aggravated
menacing.
"Unless someone puts their hands on another person, the laws in place
are not sufficient," she said.
In the first of two bills from Williams, she creates the new offense of
"aggravated bullying," a third-degree misdemeanor. That's the
second-lowest of four misdemeanor classifications in Ohio, with a
maximum jail sentence of 60 days.
The new offense applies only to students of public schools who make
other students believe they will cause them serious emotional harm or
that they will cause physical harm to them, their property or unborn
child.
Her second bill lists increasing penalties for each offense, going from:
- A warning for a first violation
- Mediation by other students for a second
- A parent meeting for a third
- An in-school suspension for the fourth
- An out-of-school suspension for the fifth
- Referring the case to the juvenile prosecutor for a sixth offense.
"I do not want to automatically suspend a person," she said. "I'm
just trying to give children the benefit of the doubt, while holding
them accountable for their actions."
Greenspan disagreed and said penalties should be harsher right away.
"By the time an act of bullying has raised to the level of being
noticed by a school does not mean that's the first time it happened,"
he said.
Greenspan's bill does not add a new criminal offense, but mandates a
suspension and parent notification on a first offense. Schools can
decide how long the suspension should be - up to 10 days - but can't
chose not to suspend.
"We are taking the discretion away from the district," he said.
His bill would also require counseling and community service or other
interventions before a bully can return to school.
"They're not going to sit at home or an in-school suspension
environment with nothing to do," he said.
A second offense could mean a suspension of up to 182 days.
Both Greenspan and Williams said they appreciate what the other is
seeking, despite the differences in their bills.
"I think we can come to a happy medium with either proposal," Williams
said. "We just need to implement something."
See the bill and a video, plus read other stories at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
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