Congressman Krishnamoorthi reintroduces STOP Bullying Act

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Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, and Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón, R-Puerto Rico, announced the reintroduction of the State Taskforce Opportunity Program (“STOP”) Bullying Act August 29, 2023.

The Act aims at providing incentives for establishing statewide anti-bullying task forces to study, address, and reduce bullying in primary and secondary schools, with attention to the pervasive bullying of LGBTQI+ students, a press release from Krishnamoorthi’s office said.

“Every child deserves a healthy environment to learn and grow in the classroom and in their social environment. The presence of bullying in K-12 schools across our country increases student-exposure to adverse childhood experiences, which contribute to not only unsatisfactory educational outcomes, but also to poor mental health outcomes across the lifespan,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi is quoted saying in the press release. “The STOP Bullying Act addresses hostile school environments by building on successful state-level initiatives and establishing a new grant program to incentivize and fund state taskforces combating bullying by working with communities to make schools safer for all children, regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.”

Rep. González-Colón echoed the views saying she was pleased to join Rep. Krishnamoorthi to reintroduce the bill. The task forces, she said, “can serve as an important tool to bring together parents, educators, and communities to ensure our state and local educational agencies study and adopt the most effective policies to address and reduce bullying and harassment across our elementary and secondary schools.”

Specifically, the STOP Bullying Act:

• Establishes a federal grant program through the Department of Education that would award grants to states to establish anti-bullying task forces.
• Each task force shall convene educators and community leaders to evaluate and strengthen bullying prevention efforts at elementary and secondary schools.
  • The chair of the taskforce will be designated by the Chief Education Officer of the state.
  • The task force must be comprised of at least one of the following: teachers at elementary and secondary schools, school administrators, parents, K-12 students, guidance counselors, child psychologists, lawyers,  professionals from organizations who specialize in supportive services for students who identify as LGBTQI+, and representatives from the State Education Agency focused on school improvement.
• Each task force should coordinate their activities with other boards and commissions within the state to ensure consistency and positive outcomes for students.
• Each task force shall submit a final report to the Chief Education Officer of the state and the U.S. Secretary of Education with the findings and conclusions of the task force, legislative recommendations, best practices to reduce and prevent hostile school environments, and to increase awareness for parents and school staff.