TRENTON — A bill that seeks to strengthen New Jersey’s anti-bullying law is back where it was 18 months ago – approved overwhelmingly by the Senate and awaiting consideration in the Assembly.
The bill was passed unanimously by the full Senate in December, supported even by one lawmaker — Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Warren — who had abstained during the earlier committee vote because he had heard from school districts about bureaucratic concerns caused by the original anti-bullying law.
“Nobody supports bullying in schools, and we think that all students should have a safe and happy learning environment,” said Doherty.
The bill, S1790, requires school districts to include in their anti-bullying policies the specific consequences for a student harassing, intimidating or bullying a schoolmate. It also requires superintendents to provide a school board data on the number of confirmed bullying reports.