Anti-bullying bill passes in Senate, advances to Governor's office

LANSING (WXYZ) - A new Michigan anti-bullying bill passed in the Senate Tuesday morning.

By a vote of 35-2, House Bill 4163, also known as “Matt’s Safe School Law” passed in the Senate and will advance to Governor Snyder’s office for his consideration.

State Superintendant Mike Flanagan said the following regarding the passing of HB 4163, “The protection of our children from physical and emotional harm is a moral obligation and responsibility of everyone. I applaud the House of Representatives for its commitment and development of House Bill 4163 that requires every school in Michigan to have a comprehensive and effective policy to protect children from being bullied.”

The bill requires schools to adopt a policy that prohibits bullying at school. It mandates that a district’s policy include at least all of the following:

• A statement prohibiting bullying of a student;
• A statement prohibiting retaliation or false accusation against a target of bullying, a witness, or another person with reliable information about an act of bullying;
• A provision indicating that all students are protected under the policy, and that bullying is equally prohibited without regard to its subject matter or motivating animus;
• The identification, by job title, of school officials responsible for ensuring that the policy is implemented;
• A statement describing how the policy is to be publicized;
• A procedure for providing notification to the parent or legal guardian of a victim of bullying, and to the parent or legal guardian of a perpetrator of the bullying;
• A procedure for prompt investigation of a report of a violation of the policy or a related complaint, identifying either the principal or the principal's designee as the person responsible for the investigation; and
• A procedure for each public school to document any prohibited incident that was reported, and a procedure to report all verified incidents of bullying and the resulting consequences, including discipline and referrals, to the board of the school district on an annual basis.

The sponsors of the bill are State Representatives Jon Bumstead and Philip Potvin.

Click here to read “Matthew’s Safe School Law” in its entirety.