Efforts to combat bullying in our schools and in cyberspace is receiving nationwide attention and PTA’s are taking a leadership role through the Connect for Respect initiative.
On the national level last month the Department of Education and many other federal agencies brought the education community together for an anti-bullying summit. The conference was an opportunity to share best practices and Connect for Respect was one of the initiatives shared with attendees. All this week CNN will run a series on bullying, details are at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2011/bullying/.
One of the areas highlighted during the Department of Education conference was the lack of appropriate legislation to protect our children from bullying and this is why our advocacy efforts are so important. Yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed a crucial bill to protect students in California from bullying and harassment. The California State PTA sponsored the bill and was instrumental in its passage. Congratulations to Carol Kocivar, State President, Paul Richman, State Executive and all our advocates in California for this significant achievement. The link to California’s press release is at
I want to make sure we are aware of all state efforts to address bullying; if there are legislation efforts or campaigns in your state, please let me know at ehargis@pta.org. Also, please contact me directly if you would like additional information.
Eric Hargis, National PTA
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