January 13, 2006

Coggs urges Assembly vote for “Bully Bill”

“This bill is too important to be thwarted by six people,” Coggs says

MADISON – Sen. Spencer Coggs, co-author of SB 310/AB 647, known as the “Bully Bill,” urged a vote on the bill in the Assembly after an Assembly committee this week deadlocked on a 6-6 tie vote.

“This bill is too important to be thwarted by six people,” Sen. Coggs said. “I respect the committee members’ right to disagree, but after overwhelming approval in both the Senate Committee and on the Senate floor, this bill deserves to see the light of day in the Assembly.”

The bill requires bullying to be reported and investigated. The legislation directs the Department of Public Instruction to develop a model school policy on bullying, and for each school district to adopt a policy prohibiting bullying. The policy must define bullying, prohibit pupils from bullying, and provide penalties for bullying. A Bullying Awareness Day would also be observed by schools, under the bill.

In the case of a tie vote, the committee chair has the option to report the bill out of committee to the full Assembly with no recommendation, or a majority of representatives could pull the bill from committee. On Tuesday, the Assembly Committee on Education amended the bill 12-0, but then failed to pass the bill on a 6-6 tie vote. Coggs said it was puzzling to have the bill unanimously amended in committee only to have six of those 12 legislators vote against passage.

“It’s curious that the legislators in committee would devote this kind of attention to the bill and unanimously support the changes and then turn around and vote against it,” Coggs said. The amendment applied policies against bullying to school buses and school-owned property.

“I am confident that once the bill gets to the floor it will get the support of more than a majority needed for passage.”

The Bully Bill was prompted by a series of reports by Milwaukee Fox television station WITI-TV, which videotaped instances of bullying on school playgrounds in the Milwaukee area. In one such instance in Sen. Coggs’ Milwaukee Senate District, a student was repeatedly punched, kicked and prevented from running away by other students. School staff members on the playground did not monitor the situation, and administrators failed to follow up on the incident, the news report said.

More than 20 states have laws prohibiting school bullying. Wisconsin is not among them, and received a grade of “F” by Bully Police USA, a national organization that rates states’ abilities to protect children from school bullying.