From taunting on the school yard to posting threats on MySpace.com, bullies torture their classmates across the state.
But Maryland education officials never had to define bullying or create standardized punishments ? until now.
The state school board must define bullying and cyberbullying, and local school leaders must adopt punishments, prevention programs and counseling for victims, under a bill Gov. Martin O?Malley signed this week, creating one of the most comprehensive anti-bullying laws in the nation.
“We cannot wait for a Columbine to happen here and sit on our hands and do nothing,” said Marcie Goodman, a Pikesville mother who wrote the bill and founded Watch Our Words, an anti-bullying nonprofit.
“You can build schools, buy new textbooks, raise teachers? salaries, but if kids aren?t safe when they come to school, it doesn?t matter.”
By passing the law, Maryland jumped from a grade of C-plus to A-plus-plus, according to national rankings by Bully Police USA, an organization that tracks anti-bullying legislation.
Only four states define cyberbullying and provide counseling to victims, including Maryland, said Brenda High, who founded Bully Police after her 13-year-old son, a victim of harassment, committed suicide.
When the bill was introduced, state education officials and school board members expressed concern about how schools could police online threats and other activity that happens off school grounds.
But state education officials vowed to consider such limitations when they craft a model bullying policy that local school officials will then tailor for their own districts.
Twelve-year-olds were the most frequent victims of bullying during the 2005-06 school year, according to a state report.
“No law is going to be able to actually eliminate bullying, but we can provide recourse so children aren?t killing themselves or not attending school,” said Del. Craig Rice, D-Montgomery, the legislation?s sponsor.
Rice described a gay Montgomery County high school student who could no longer endure the harassment she suffered from classmates who called her names on MySpace, so she asked Rice for help.
