Safe Schools

Why this bill is necessary:

• Children who are bullied are more likely to feel anxious, insecure, have low self esteem and experience depression (1).
• Over 10% of victims have skipped school specifically to avoid being bullied (1), over 160,000 per year in the U.S. (2)
• Children who bully are more likely to develop conduct disorders, more likely to bring a weapon to school, and less likely to succeed academically (2).
  
• Over 60% of children who bully were found to have at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24 (1).
• Bullying and harassment has deadly effects. Victims of bullying and harassment are far more likely than non-bullied peers to attempt or commit suicide (1). Additionally, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center found that in over 75% of fatal school shootings, bullying and harassment of the perpetrators was found to be a major contributing factor (4).

• The School Violence Prevention Act is a bi-partisan effort to eliminate bullying and harassment in North Carolina’s schools by requiring all schools to adopt policies that clearly define and prohibit bullying and harassment, and to create a clear system of reporting and responding to incidents.  
• The bill enumerates specific categories to identify and protect those children statistically shown to be most vulnerable to bullying and harassment. Currently, there is no statewide definition of what constitutes bullying and harassment, leaving teachers, administrators and staff with little guidance and leading to unequal protection for our students across the state’s classrooms, schools and districts.
• Crucially, research has shown that students in North Carolina who attend schools where anti-bullying and harassment policies enumerate specific categories are far more likely to report feeling safe in school, being less likely to be bullied, that reports of bulling incidents are more likely to be taken seriously and handled appropriately, and one-third less likely to skip a class because they felt uncomfortable or unsafe. Students in these schools also report that others are less often harassed in their school because of their physical appearance or real or perceived sexual orientation (3).
  
• 72% of those polled in a statewide survey expressed support for an enumerated policy to protect children from bullying that includes sexual orientation, including 84% of Democrats, 72% of independents, and 58% of Republicans polled (5).
  
• The School Violence Prevention Act seeks to protect all students, teachers and staff from violence in schools, and DOES NOT create new protected classes in the law and does not assign special rights, special protection or preferred status to any groups or types of students. The bill includes specific language to guarantee these points.  
  
• The bill treats all victims of bullying and harassment equally, and includes a list of real or perceived characteristics independent research has shown to make students and school staff more likely to be victimized. Local school districts can add to this list of categories and will decide what procedures and remedies are best suited for their communities to address incidents when they occur. 

(School Violence Prevention Act)

• ACLU of NC