Pass a Bill Holding Schools Accountable for Allowing Our Children to be Bullied

The American Justice Department's latest statistic is that one in four kids are bullied on any given day. That means that 25% of our nation's children are taunted, teased, threatened, harassed, intimidated, pushed, punched and abused by other students on a daily basis. For many of these kids, they are too scared to go to school. The American Justice Department's study also shows that 160,000 plus children miss school every day, due to fear of attack or intimidation. Bullying is such a powerfully destructive force against our young people A Britain study found that at least half of all suicides among young people are related to bullying. These statistics are absolutely staggering but the most haunting statistic of all is that there is only school intervention for bullying 4% of the time (National Education Association and Department of Justice).That is a devastating number. And because school personnel continue to ignore bullying, the kids are being reinforced to continue abusing others. Thus, one in four of our kids are being allowed to be tormented by other students every day. That absolutely must change

I have spoken to so many parents who are begging their schools to please protect their children but that request continuously falls on deaf ears. I, unfortunately, have experienced this firsthand with my own daughter. There is absolutely nothing worse than to be terrified to send your child to school.Words cannot express the anxiety a parent experiences when they feel so helpless to protect their own child. Words cannot express the fear, anxiety and dread our children experience every morning before facing school. No parent or child should ever have to live that way. There are scared parents and students across the nation begging the schools to step in and protect our kids to no avail.

My husband and I have dealt with my daughter's school for over two years on this subject. We have tried taking all the right avenues and following the chain of command. We have provided ample evidence of bullying such as Face Book posts, text messages, voice mails and witness statements. One incident was caught on school cameras that showed 10-15 girls surrounding and threatening my daughter all at the same time. When we met with the principal regarding this incident, he told us IN FRONT OF OUR DAUGHTER, that he thought she 'asked for it' and that he thought she 'attracted drama.'

I reached out to the district's President of the Board of Education. I sent an email giving very detailed reasons for my concern. I requested a meeting with him for myself and other parents who share the same worries. Instead of meeting with the parents, he went directly to the school, got their side and said that he was satisfied with their response to his questions and therefor did not need to meet with us. How can a fair conclusion be found with only one side of the story. And of course the school is always going to try and cover it's mistakes. I never once thought that the school officials would say that they were ignoring all evidence presented to them and were allowing our kids to be bullied. A rightful conclusion is impossible to come to by simply talking to the very people we are bringing the complaint against.

These are the kind of situations that parents face everyday with schools. What will it take to get school officials to see that bullying is not a 'right of passage', or 'girl drama' or a 'boys will be boys' situation. It is abuse. Bullying is abuse. How many more students have to take their own lives before the schools start to realize this? And why would it ever be allowed to get to that point? Shouldn't we be trying to prevent that from happening to any more kids instead of just reacting to it. The school failed those poor kids and their families in the most abhorrent way. They continue to fail our children today.

The protocols and anti-bullying policies are not enough and are wasted if they are not adhered to for every single student 100% of the time. They are wasted when the schools refuse to even acknowledge bullying at all.

Yes, these school bullies absolutely need to be held accountable for their actions. But even more so, the schools have to be held accountable for their part in this. They are the adults. They are the educators. They are the ones in charge of our children for seven hours a day, five days a week. They are the ones that we trust to protect our children. They are the ones that broke that trust. They must start the process of change and make the safety and well-being of our children their top priority. If they do not then they have to be held accountable.

There needs to be harsh consequences for any school that knowingly lets our children be abused or ignores the pleas of parents and students for protection. 1 out of 4 of our children are allowed to be abused by other students everyday as school staff turns a blind eye. These kids need and deserve someone who will stand up and fight for their protection Our children are depending on us. They deserve to have someone listening and fighting for them. Please be one of those people by showing your support, saying enough is enough, and letting our elected officials know that change must be made. Please sign and pass this on to as many people as possible. Our nation's children needs this.

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