New bullying bill worries Scottsdale residents by Hailey Paquette Senator David Schapira, D-Tempe, has introduced a bill

that would redefine bullying and increase students protection, but many Scottsdale residents believe that the bill is unnecessary and will make dealing the problem more difficult. SB 1462, known as the Arizona Safe Schools Act of 2012, seeks to define bullying as any written, verbal or physical act or any electronic communication that is intended to harm. It also includes that students are protected regardless of the reason for the bullying and that schools must enforce bullying laws off-campus. This is the first law to apply these rules to charter schools. Previous laws required schools to have policies in place to deal with bullying and to protect students on campus, at bus stops, off-campus events and electronic communication on school networks. In the Scottsdale Unified School District, there are currently programs in place that teach offending students and their parents social skills in order to prevent future bullying, as well as on-going teacher and parent programs to educate and inform them about bullying. Dr. Dana Sherman, who leads Scottsdale Unified School Districts bullying diversion program, believes that the bill misses its mark and will make dealing with the problem murkier. She said that the bill is too unclear and leaves a lot of situations up for misinterpretation. Forty percent or more of bullies are victims as well, she said. How do you deal with that? Sherman said that bill could lead to parents and kids calling everything bullying, even situations such as two boys arguing or messing around playfully. According to this new bill, What isnt bullying? she asked. The bill will also create problems for schools because it requires them to protect students off campus, according to Sherman. If kids fight at a party, should the school take care of it? she asked. Franchesca Thomas, who has children at Arcadia High school and Ingleside

Middle school, felt that this part of the bill was a necessary addition, though. She said that what happens outside of school affects what goes during school hours. She felt that school administrators should be able to deal with bullying that occurred away from school grounds for that reason. One aspect of the bill that is facing contention is how it removes the requirement that bullying must occur over more than one incident. According to the American Psychological Association, bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Sherman thought that administrators would be overwhelmed with bullying complaints due to this part of the bill, while Thomas believed that removing an industry standard definition would not be helpful. Scott Dunham, whose daughter attends Ingleside Middle school and is head of the schools Dads Club, believes that the problem is overblown by the immediacy of the Internet. There isnt much more going on than what went on in my middle school years, its just getting media coverage now, he said.