Richmond – The General Assembly yesterday passed legislation sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45) requiring the State Board of Education to develop guidance to help Virginia schools address the troubling new phenomenon of cyberbullying. While House Bill 1624 began as a more broad effort to strengthen Virginia’s existing anti-bullying law, Englin amended the legislation to target cyberbullying in response to students, parents, and school officials.
“As the legislation moved forward, a number of middle school and high school students explained to me that the real problem they face in our schools is the growing use of new technologies like camera phones, text messaging, blogs, and MySpace for bullying, harassment, and intimidation,” said Englin. “I also heard from parents, teachers, and administrators that they are ill equipped to deal with this new phenomenon and would appreciate some expert guidance.”
Responding to these concerns, Englin modified House Bill 1624 to focus on cyberbullying, requiring the State Board of Education to develop guidance to address this problem as part of the model anti-bullying policy it provides to Virginia schools.
“It’s important that we legislators listen to what young people have to say about the issues that affect them,” said Englin. “By having the State Board of Education work on this issue and develop guidance and best practices for our school divisions, we can make sure that all of our children enjoy the safe and productive school environment they need to be able to learn and to grow.”
The bill passed the House of Delegates on Feb. 9 by a vote of 94 to five, and it passed the Senate yesterday unanimously.
Delegate David Englin is currently serving his second term in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he represents the 45th District, which includes parts of the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Arlington County. He was first elected in November 2005 and won re-election in November 2007 with more than 64 percent of the vote. A Democratic Whip, he serves on the Privileges and Elections Committee, and the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee. For more information, visit www.davidenglin.org.
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