The legislature's education committee voted unanimously Wednesday for a bill that strengthens the state's bullying laws and adds cyberbullying as an offense.
Modeled after a law in Massachusetts, the bill mandates that schools must intervene more quickly - within one school day - if a student is threatened either at the school or through a computer. For the first time, cyberbullying - which has become more common with the growth of Facebook and other sites on the Internet - would be covered for the first time.
"We believe this is a great bill to address this issue of cyber-bullying,'' state Sen. Andrea Stillman, a Democrat who co-chairs the committee, told fellow lawmakers Wednesday afternoon.
She added, "We feel very strongly that we covered all the bases here. If it is off school grounds and there is no link to the school at all, then it becomes a criminal case.''
Stillman noted that the bill is "reflective of Massachusetts law, which has been in effect for years and has not been challenged.''
The bill also demands yearly training for all public school employees - from principals to janitors - to help them identify the signs of bullying.
State Sen. Len Suzio of Meriden questioned why the training would be needed annually, saying that would cover 1,000 employees in his hometown.
"Things have changed from year to year,'' Stillman responded.
Lawmakers said the bill is important because some children have been bullied, leading some to commit suicide under the pressure. Debra Zegas Berman of Brookfield testified at a recent public hearing that her 14-year-old daughter, Alexa, was bullied by a clique of girls who had shut her out and then was cyberbullied by two girls. She committed suicide three days before school started in August 2008.
After discussion by both Republicans and Democrats, the measure was placed on the "consent calendar'' that is reserved for bills that will pass unanimously.
