NCJ Number
237665
Date Published
December 2011
Length
202 pages
Annotation
This study examined the content and implementation of State laws and policies that address bullying as of April 2010.
Abstract
This analysis of the content of States' bullying laws and school districts' bullying policies focuses on the extent to which they reflect guidelines and the model for bullying policies developed by the U.S. Department of Education; and the implementation of the laws and policies is considered. This report contains eight major findings. First, State bullying legislation has increased rapidly, with nearly all States having bullying laws. Second, the revision of State bullying legislation is also occurring at a rapid pace. Third, the 11 key components of bullying legislation recommended by the U.S. Department of Education appear in varied combinations among the States. Fourth, States differ significantly in the number of components they include in legislation and in the ways in which those components are addressed. Fifth, many State have expanded bullying legislation to address emerging problems related to cyberbullying. Sixth, most States (n=41) have developed model bullying policies or other widely available guidance documents regarding bullying. Seventh, bullying policies in the randomly sampled set of 20 school districts examined tended to be more expansive than their State legislation or State policies. Eighth, for the sample of 20 school districts, more expansive school district policies tended to be in States with more expansive legislation. Whether the prescribed legislative provisions and policies were being implemented in the schools under resource constraints could not be determined through a policy review alone. More information is required, and this will be the focus of the second phase of this study. 31 exhibits, 58 references, and appended study materials, a State-by-State presentation of bullying legislative provisions, and State model policies