Bully bill may be boon for schools

LYNN – Bullying at school has been around longer than pencil sharpeners on teacher’s desks, but a recent string of aggressive and violent incidents in Lynn and throughout the state have lawmakers looking to improve the ways that schools handle the harassment of students.Reacting to an incident that took place in his hometown of Medford, State Rep. Paul Donoto (D-Medford) is co-sponsoring a bill with Sen. Robert Antonioni (D-Worcester) that would force schools to review harassment policies and set up liaisons in every public school building to try and combat the epidemic.Bill S2630, An Act Against Bullying, was unanimously passed by the Senate in early April and should hit the floor for debate in the House of Representatives after budget discussions conclude in early May.The bill proposes schools set up a specific bullying program, targeting harassment both on school grounds and with a specific focus on cyber space, where bullying has become increasingly present on Web sites like Myspace.com and YouTube.com.Every school would have a liaison to the administration that would work with teachers and students to educate about bullying, and act as the information and prevention arm for that school.Lynn Rep. Steven Walsh says he is in full support of passing a bill to make schools safer for children, but wants to review and debate the specifics of this proposal with his colleagues along with teachers and administrators to see if this is the best way to go about taking action.”School safety is our paramount concern, but we need to decide whether this bill is the best vehicle for action,” he said. “I want to hear from teachers and administrators and find out what they think, and get their ideas to find out if not this, then what. This is an idea that came from a specific incident in Rep. Donoto’s district, and now we need to debate and decide if this is the best plan for our schools.”Lynn Schools Director of Equity and Program Support Janet Birchenough was put in charge of the district’s harassment policy in 1996 when Lynn first implemented its no tolerance policy.Currently, a new harassment pamphlet covering everything from hazing to sexual harassment is handed out every year with a specific section on bullying. Training is done at each school, and principals are required to go over these policies with every employee.If an incident of bullying is noticed by a teacher, or reported by a student or parent, an investigation is launched immediately with appropriate action taken.”We have a lengthy process to document the incident and take action,” Birchenough said. “It is out there. Everyone knows the procedure. If an incident is reported the principal investigates, interviewing the student being bullied, the bully and any witnesses. Then the parents are brought in. When the investigation is complete, they send me the forms they have to fill out and I keep them in a permanent, confidential file.”Birchenough said bullies are disciplined, but not suspended for the first incident, but if bullying continues that student will be suspended, reviewed again and could eventually end up expelled if things do not change.She says she is in support of protecting students from bullying in every way, but parents are also a huge part of the process as teachers are not around when students are walking home from school or on the Internet, and many students who are picked on are afraid to tell someone.”Parent involvement is a huge thing, we can’t do anything if we don’t know what is going on,” she said. “I think (the policy) has been (effective). I talk to principals every year to make sure that they go over it with their staff, and I do a training every year at each school. We are doing what we can to prevent it, because it is a problem.”Walsh said he is confident in Lynn Public Schools and their bullying policy, and says any new policy passed by the house would only add to the safety of students.”Lynn does a good job, especially with Officer (Robert) Ferrari