Senate Committee Fails to Include Bullying in Education Bill

As reported in Metro Weekly on October 20, 2011, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee failed to include two anti-bullying amendments in the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011. The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), co-introduced by Senators Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to include programs for bullying- and harassment-prevention. The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), introduced by Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal education nondiscrimination law.