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A new state law in New Jersey is considered the toughest anti-bullying legislation in the country. Seen by many parents and educators as a welcome change, many administrators are concerned the law goes too far, according to The New York Times.
The legislation, known as the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, is partially a response to the suicide one year ago by Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi after his roommate secretly filmed Clementi kissing another man and streamed the incident over the Internet.
Superintendents worry the law, which requires schools to designate anti-bullying specialists to handle complaints, will stretch schools’ resources too far.
“I think this has gone well overboard,” Richard G. Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, told The Times. “Now we have to police the community 24 hours a day. Where are the people and the resources to do this?”
But supporters of the law say, as bullying spreads from the playground to the Internet, schools should do more to help stop the spread of conflicts, according to The Times.
Many N.J. school employees attended training sessions over the summer to better understand the new policies that include 18 pages of “required components.”