Students shouldn’t fear going back to school.

Most of us have all been on the receiving end of bullying at least once, but that doesn’t mean we should let today’s youth continue to be bullied, and the Texas Legislature agrees! State lawmakers passed a law creating new guidelines concerning bullying which school districts must implement by the time school starts this fall. The new law requires school boards to adopt policies that:

• prohibit bullying
• stop retaliation against any person including a victim, witness, or another person, who in good faith, provides information concerning a bullying incident.

The new law requires schools to:

• notify a parent or guardian of a student who is bullying or bullied within a reasonable amount of time after the incident
• provide steps students should take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying
• make available counseling options for a student who is victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in bullying
• establish procedures for reporting bullying, investigating reports of bullying, and determining whether bullying occurred
• prohibit punishment of a student who, after an investigation is found to have been a victim of bullying, use reasonable self-defense in response to the bullying
• develop a process for bullying cases involving special education students in accordance with the Disabilities Education Act.

Parents and guardians no longer have to worry about being in the dark if bullying happens or students being punished for self-defense against bullies! Help us protect youth rights by joining the ACLU of Texas CAN (Community Action Network). We need people like you to raise awareness in your town!