LANSING – State Representative Lee Gonzales (D-Flint Township) today praised the Michigan House of Representatives for passing Matt's Safe School Law, which would uniformly define bullying and harassment and require that all schools adopt an anti-bullying policy. The bill now goes to the Senate.
"Schools should not be a battlefield where our children have to constantly dodge attacks by their peers," Gonzales said. "For too long, we have underestimated the damage that bullying causes. Too many of our young people are taking their own lives because they can't face going back to that hostile, dangerous environment."
The Journal of the American Medical Association noted in a recent study that nearly 30 percent of kids reported moderate or frequent involvement in bullying.
Similar legislation was introduced last year, but the new version of Matt's Safe School Law extends protections to Internet activity. The law is named after Matt Epling, a 14-year-old boy who committed suicide after experiencing ongoing harassment and bullying at his Lansing-area school. Six out of 10 Michigan children report being victims of bullying.
"All children deserve to feel safe in school so they can concentrate on learning the knowledge and skills they need to succeed," Gonzales said. "This legislation will help protect all children from bullying and harassment. It will also prevent the heartbreak that so many families are suffering after losing their sons and daughters who were preyed upon by bullies."
Matt's Safe School Law has the support of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, the Michigan State Police, the Michigan Board of Education, Michigan Association of School Psychologists and many other professional organizations.