Lt. Gov. Denn & Attorney General Biden Announce Improved Anti-Bullying Legislation

Rep. Schooley, Sens. Henry and Sokola sponsoring measure to increase reporting of bullying, promote Attorney General’s bullying hotline

Wilmington – Noting that one out of every three middle and high school students report being bullied but many other incidents go unreported, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, Attorney General Beau Biden and legislative leaders unveiled legislation on Friday that would protect students against bullying and add consistency in how such incidents are reported.

Nationally, 8.2 million students are bullied each year and 1 million are cyber-bullied. About 160,000 students stay home from school on any given day because they’re afraid of being bullied. In Delaware, nearly 20 percent of students surveyed last year reported that another student issued a verbal threat against them, while 30 percent reported that they said something to another student to hurt them.

Lt. Gov. Denn said the proposal contains an important provision requiring the Department of Education to annually audit schools to ensure that they are properly investigating and reporting bullying allegations.

“It’s not just having the numbers, though those are important. Letting parents of kids who were bullied know about it is obvious,” Lt. Gov. Denn said. “Less obvious, but just as important, is letting the parents of kids who are doing the bullying know what is going on. Many of these kids, perhaps most, come from families with interested and active parents, who want their kids to do the right thing in school. If those parents know that their kids are engaged in bullying, they will start taking some strong steps at home to deal with the problem.”

The legislation was developed from multiple community forums Attorney General Biden has held talking to students and parents about bullying, and from conversations he and Lt. Gov. Denn have had with district superintendents.

“Kids deserve to be safe at school, but we need to fully understand the challenges we face in order to hold bullies accountable, prevent future incidents, and help students – both bullies and victims – stay on the right path,” Attorney General Biden said. “This legislation addresses the gaps in Delaware’s law that have led to uneven and inaccurate reporting.”

The legislation, which will be filed next week, would address a lack of consistency in how bullying incidents are reported by school districts. For example, Laurel Middle School, which has a four-star commendable rating, had the highest number of incidents (38 in a 344-student school) during the 2010-11 school year, but William Penn High with 1,981 students had zero reported incidents. And only one incident was reported in the entire Smyrna School District.

Under the bill, school districts would be required to report unsubstantiated claims of bullying to the state Department of Education, in addition to the current requirement for reporting substantiated claims. The current law says substantiated claims must be reported within five business days. Often it takes longer than that for a school administrator to verify a student’s claim, so the incident never gets reported.

Additionally, DOE must audit the districts’ reports of bullying statistics annually. Lastly, the Attorney General’s Office’s bullying hotline (1-800-220-5414) must be posted on each school district’s website and in a conspicuous place in each school.

Rep. Terry Schooley, who is the lead House sponsor of the legislation, said that reducing the instance of bullying starts with everyone treating all instances of reported bullying seriously and not tolerating any form of bullying.

“We’re not talking about the old-fashioned ‘kids will be kids’ instances, these are serious situations that are putting kids at risk. Bullying creates fear and intimidation in our schools, and it leads to students performing poorly in school, not going to school for fear of being bullied or in some cases, committing suicide,” said Rep. Schooley, D-Newark. “There is a reluctance to report bullying, but we need everyone – parents, teachers, administrators and students – to say that they will not tolerate bullying and to report all instances, so we can better address this problem.”

Senate Majority Whip Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, one of the prime sponsors of the legislation, said that protecting children from bullying is paramount.

“There’s no magic fix for bullying, much as all of us wish there were one,” said Sen. Henry, D-Wilmington East, a longtime champion of anti-bullying measures. “But these changes will increase accountability on the part of our schools and conspicuous posting of the bullying hotline number, I think, will give parents another tool to address this problem.”

“Schools need to be a place where students feel safe, and all adults and students need to be willing to respond to any physical, verbal and cyber threats,” said Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, chairman of the Senate Education Committee and a strong backer of anti-bullying measures.


Lieutenant Governor Denn and Attorney General Biden to Announce Improved Anti-Bullying Legislation

WILMINGTON – Media are invited to join Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn, Attorney General Beau Biden and legislative leaders for a press conference on Friday, March 2, 2012, where they will unveil stronger anti-bullying legislation, discuss their work on cyber-bullying, and introduce Delawareans to a national Special Olympics program being rolled out in Delaware.

They will be joined by General Assembly sponsors Representative Terry Schooley (D-23rd Rep. District) and Senator Margaret Rose Henry (D-2nd Sen. District). Sen. Henry will be representing legislation sponsor Senator Dave Sokola (D – 8th Sen. District), who cannot attend due to a previous commitment in his role as Chair of the Senate’s Education Committee.

Other invited guests include the Delaware Department of Education, members of the General Assembly who are co-sponsors, members of the Delaware Bullying Prevention Association, Department of Justice, Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, Early Childhood Council, Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families, and Special Olympics.

When: Friday, March 2, 2012
10:00am – 11:00am

Where: Attorney General’s Conference Room
Carvel State Office Building
820 N. French Street, 6th Floor
Wilmington


Lt. Governor Denn in Sussex and Kent Counties on Thursday, March 1

Visits Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences Serves as Special Guest Reader at Allen Frear Elementary

Wilmington – On Thursday, March 1, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will be in Sussex and Kent Counties.

Lt. Governor Denn will start his day with a visit to Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences with Executive Director Dr. Patricia S. Oliphant. Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences prepares middle school students for future academic success by providing an accelerated, supportive academic environment within a small school setting.

Finally, he will serve as special guest reader at Allen Frear Elementary School as part of the Read Across America effort in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

10:45am – 12:00pm Visit to Sussex Academy of Arts & Sciences
21777 Sussex Pines Road
Georgetown

6:00pm – 7:00pm Family Reading Night at Allen Frear Elementary School
Charlton School Cafeteria
278 Sorghum Mill Road
Camden


Schedule for Lt. Governor Matt Denn for Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Lt. Governor Matt Denn will visit Hanby Elementary School & Charles W. Bush Pre-School in the Brandywine School District. The current Hanby Elementary School is the former Brandywood Elementary School and the first day of classes in their new location was January 5, 2012. Hanby and the Bush Pre-School share the same building, so the Lt. Governor will tour both, meeting with both principals and staff and students from both schools.

The Lt. Governor will then participate in the National Prayer Luncheon.

Finally, the Lt. Governor will participate in Operation Warm’s “One Night Without Warmth.” One Night Without Warmth is a national awareness event for Operation Warm’s mission to provide new winter coats for children in need.

This year’s kickoff event will be held in Delaware and will specifically highlight Operation Warm’s Delaware Challenge, which is to provide a new winter coat to every elementary school child living in poverty in Delaware. In 2011, Operation Warm distributed 10,000 coats in Delaware through public elementary schools throughout the state of Delaware. They hope to increase this number until they reach every child living in poverty in Delaware.

The One Night Without Warmth event will take place on the University of Delaware on the North Green right off of Main Street in Newark, DE and will entail students holding a short, outdoor vigil as they stand in solidarity with children living in poverty who may not have a warm, winter coat. Brief presentations will be shared and music will be performed.

8:30am – 10:30am Visit to Hanby Elementary & Charles W. Bush Pre-School

2523 Berwyn Road
Wilmington

11:30am – 12:45pm National Prayer Luncheon
The Landings at Dover Air Force Base
Dover

7:00pm – 7:30pm Operation Warm’s “One Night Without Warmth”
University of Delaware
North Green off of Main Street
Newark


Today: Acting Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank to Travel to New Castle, Delaware

Blank will tour solar manufacturing facility to highlight President’s State of the Union clean energy, manufacturing initiatives

WASHINGTON – Roughly a week after President Obama laid out plans in his State of the Union address to support an economy built on American manufacturing and American energy, Acting Deputy U.S. Commerce Secretary Dr. Rebecca Blank today will visit SolarDock, a Wilmington-area company that designs, manufactures and installs next generation solar power systems. She will meet with SolarDock founder Scott Johnson, partner Edward O’Brien, and employees and tour the manufacturing facility, along with Delaware Lieutenant Governor Matthew Denn.
Blank’s visit will highlight the President’s plans to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and foster a new era of American energy development. In the State of the Union, the President proposed reducing tax rates for American manufacturers and doubling the tax deduction for high-tech manufacturers. He also called for Congressional action on clean energy tax credits and laid out a proposal for new incentives to encourage manufacturers to make energy efficiency upgrades that would save $100 billion on the nation’s energy bills.

Blank will also discuss the Department’s efforts to support American manufacturers, so they’re better able to build their products in America and sell them all around the globe. The Commerce Department currently helps support manufacturers in several ways, including recently creating the National Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Program Office to bring together stakeholders and drive investments and initiatives in advanced manufacturing. Meanwhile, the Department’s trade specialists, who are located in offices throughout the country and in more than 70 nations around the world, work daily to connect U.S. businesses looking to export to buyers overseas, and Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office helps businesses and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into new products and innovations.

Blank will be available to press to discuss the President’s proposals and what Commerce is doing to help Delaware businesses after her tour. She was appointed acting deputy secretary in October, having served as Acting Secretary from August-October 2011. She joined the Obama Administration as the head of the Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration. Blank previously served as a member of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors.