Cyberbullying Could Eventually Be Added to Michigan’s Matt’s Safe School Law

On December 9, 2014, the Michigan Senate passed a bill, which would have included cyberbullying in existing legislation that fights bullying in public schools. Matt’s Safe School Law, had it been amended, would require schools to modify their policies preventing bullying to include cyberbullying.

Another change required by the bill would have been a policy of confidentiality for those that report bullying, as well as annual reporting by the school districts to the state Department of Education of the incidents of bullying.  This information would be available to the public, but all personally identifiable information would be excluded to protect the individuals involved.

The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent to the House for further consideration.  It was referred to the House Committee on Education.  Unfortunately, the bill did see action in the Committee before the Legislature came to a close on Thursday. The bill must therefore be re-introduced and passed by both chambers in the coming term.

If the bill does become law in the future, Michigan public school districts will have to modify their existing anti-bullying policies to include cyberbullying and begin the annual reporting process to the Michigan Department of Education. READ MORE HERE.

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