From Rep. Jean Price:
Good news for supporters of the anti-bullying bill!
It turns out that at the same time we were working on language for HB 219, the Board of Public Education adopted the same bullying prevention language in their school accreditation standards. The Board of Public Education has the constitutional authority to adopt new rules for schools.
The new standards require that schools adopt policies and procedures to address bullying. You can find the document on the Board of Public Education website under proposed Chapter 55 Accreditation Standards. Here is the direct link: http://bpe.mt.gov/content/PDF/VariousDocs/Chapter55.
These standards go into effect July 1, 2013. Taking the new rule adoption into consideration, and after discussion with the Office of Public Instruction, I have withdrawn HB 219 from consideration by the House Education Committee on Wednesday, February 6th.
Remember that this is good news! I encourage you to share the section of the new standards with students, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, and other community members.
While we won’t have a state law on the books,schools will be required to abide by the new standards.
Thank you so much for your interest in HB 219. I appreciate your commitment to this very important issue.
Rep. Jean Price
From Eternity To Here 