ANNAPOLIS – Delegate Luiz Simmons, D-Montgomery, said he did not realize how being bullied as a child affected his daughter’s self-esteem until she chose to write a book about her and other girls’ experiences, rather than accept an offer to attend Yale Law School.
Rachel Simmons’ 2003 book “Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls” was turned into a Lifetime movie.
Delegate Simmons’ turned his new awareness into legislation that he now hopes Gov. Robert Ehrlich will sign.
“It’s a modest step, but it’s an important step” in preventing bullying, Simmons said. “I never fully appreciated how (the bullying) affected her.”
Simmons’ bill is one of many designed to protect the future mental and physical well-being of children in public schools that passed the Maryland General Assembly before Monday’s adjournment.
Other health bills waiting for final approval would require the Maryland State Department of Education to develop a nutrition policy, hire a director of physical education and seek money for youth suicide prevention programs.
The General Assembly also made sure there was $250 million in the fiscal year 2006 budget for school construction, an increase of more than $120 million over fiscal 2005.
Another $400 million went to the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act, known as the Thornton Commission, which passed in 2002. The act is expected to bring more than $1.3 billion in additional funding to Maryland schools by fiscal year 2008 to improve pubic education.
A bill to encourage retired teachers’ return to the classroom was approved. The measure would allow them to draw from their retirement income while receiving a salary, provided they teach in critical shortage areas.
The fate of the bullying bill is still uncertain. Ehrlich vetoed it last year.
If Ehrlich approves the measure, each local board of education would be required to report incidents of harassment against public school students and the education department would have to submit an annual report of harassment incidents.
Requiring students to report bullying would empower students and parents, who are often discouraged from reporting these types of incidents, Simmons said.
Minimizing the bullying and saying it is “just part of growing up” are not ideal solutions, he said.
“It’s not a right of passage, it is a right of terror,” Simmons said.
The National Education Association reports that annually 160,000 students refused to go to school out of fear of bullying, Simmons said. He also mentioned that the shooters in the 1999 Columbine school slaying were bullied.
The education department did not favor the bill, saying keeping track of bullying incidents should not involve the General Assembly, said Bill Reinhard, department spokesman.
“We’ve been doing our job,” said Reinhard.
Schools have programs that help train teachers to be aware of any bullying incidents, he said, and a child’s safety is an import part of providing education.
“We should be spending time on prevention of bullying and not necessarily on data collection,” Reinhard said.
Reinhard also took issue with the General Assembly’s approval of a bill requiring schools to develop a nutrition policy.
Local school boards would have to account for all foods and beverages available to students during the school day, including those sold in vending machines, in school cafeterias and in school stores. The bill would require timers on all snack machines located at public schools and require health education programs in public schools to include instruction on the importance of physical activity in maintaining good health.
Reinhard said the department already implements similar programs and most vending machines already have timers.
That bill will help students live longer and healthier lives, said bill sponsor Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George’s County. He said it was hypocritical to teach children to eat healthy while providing snack machines with junk food in them.
“We have to start practicing what we preach,” Pinsky said.
A bill strengthening students’ mental health is also awaiting final approval. It would require the Maryland State Department of Education to seek federal funds for youth suicide prevention programs and encourage students to seek help promptly.
The federal Garret Lee Smith Memorial Act was signed on Oct. 21, 2004, and provides $82 million for youth suicide prevention programs at college mental health centers. Maryland public schools would be required to try to tap that college funding.
In higher education, none of the bills to give students relief on tuition costs. Students paid an average of 30 percent more in the state’s colleges and universities over the last two years. Tuition is expected to rise 5.8 percent this year. The governor vetoed a bill last session that would have capped tuition at 5 percent for three years.