Congress v. bullying

Congress+v.+bullying

Lily Jacobs

Most people you meet will have at least one story about a school bully. This may seem like an unavoidable fact of childhood – a rite of passage that sooner or later, everyone just has to get through, especially for those who feel the negative effects of others’ ignorance and xenophobia, but there are ways to reduce bullying, which include passing legislature in the government. A lot of legislation has actually already been passed, and just recently the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2017 was introduced into the House. This act has the goal of protecting students, including those in minority groups, such as those who identify as LGBTQ, from bullying. It would also establish policies requiring data on bullying to be collected and provided to the Department of Education and Congress, and leave programs and policies on bullying open to evaluation so that they could be updated and improved.

One reason that this act can rightly be called the Safe Schools Improvement Act is that current federal laws do not, according to the Human Rights Campaign, “comprehensively and expressly focus on bullying or harassment,” nor do they address the “unique challenges faced by LGBTQ youth,” who are far more likely to experience bullying and harassment than non-LGBTQ students. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own school, regardless of how they identify, and passing this act can increase the chances of that for students.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act is currently being considered in the House of Representatives, and it has a long way to go if it passes there. Anyone can contribute and help this process by contacting their local representative and telling them your opinion on the act. One quick and easy way to do this is to text RESIST to the number 50409, which can assist in finding your representatives and will even send them a message for you!