Guest Column 

             Parents Have a Right to Know About School Bullying
 

By Senator Jim Tedisco

This year’s state budget proposal again makes an important investment in education. But if students receive their education in an environment of intimidating threats and the unforgiving taunts of bullying, they can’t be expected to succeed in school and be attentive to their teachers’ lessons.

It’s heartbreaking that any child would face anguish attending school each day due to bullying.

It used to be that once a child left school grounds they were largely free from verbal taunts and persistent physical abuse.

The prevalence of social media and smart phones have compounded the problem by giving bullies a weapon of mass destruction to harass and torment their victims exponentially 24-7.

Thanks to the internet and social media apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube, there is no escape and no sanctuary from the emotional trauma inflicted by bullies.

Bullying makes kids feel embarrassed and many children would rather endure the pain than communicate this issue with their parents.

Unfortunately, when the pain gets so great, they may not only hurt themselves but also strike out against the bullies in violent ways.

The state’s Dignity for All Students Act, which was passed in 2012, requires school districts to report incidents of bullying to the state Education Department. However, it doesn’t mandate or require schools to do the same notification for the parents when their child has been bullied or is believed to be the perpetrator of bullying.

This gap in state law has become fatal.

In April 2015, 13-year-old Jacobe Taras of Moreau tragically took his own life as a result of bullying. Jacobe’s parents, Christine and Richard Taras, were not notified by Jacobe’s school of the extent of bullying he faced.

This is just one of many heartbreaking stories of young people injuring themselves or worse yet taking or attempting to take their own lives because of bullying.

That’s why I have sponsored “Jacobe’s Law,” named in Jacobe Taras’s memory to require that schools notify parents when a child is being threatened by a bully. “Jacobe’s Law” (Senate bill S.16) requires that school employees charged with receiving reports of harassment, bullying or discrimination contact the parents or guardians of the students involved – both the bullies and the victims -- in an incident of bullying or harassment.

“Jacobe’s Law” is a non-partisan bill, with several Democratic sponsors and twice passed the Senate. Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh is sponsoring the bill in the Assembly.

We ask a lot of parents right now as it relates to their children’s education. Shouldn’t parents be made aware of threats of violence to their children so they can take the action they deem appropriate and have input on decisions of how best to protect their children’s safety.

If the statistics and incidences of bullying are important enough to report to State Ed, then they are important enough to make parents aware to intervene and develop a plan of action to potentially help avert a tragedy.

I’ve asked many times to parents, education officials and colleagues, “if your child was bullied in school, wouldn’t you want to know?”

Not a single person has ever said, “no.”