A proposal to require all Michigan school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies is on its way to Governor Rick Snyder for his signature.
The state Legislature gave final approval to a House Republican anti-bullying proposal following a month of heated debate.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said he is happy with the final product.
“At this point and time, yeah. It went through both chambers, got a fair amount of public scrutiny and feedback, and I’m proud of the work the House Republicans did,” said Richardville.
Democratic lawmakers say there is still a lot of work to be done on anti-bullying rules.
Democratic state Senator Glenn Anderson was one of two senators who voted against the measure. He said it does not go far enough to protect kids.
“I personally agonized over whether to support this flawed legislation," Anderson said. "Whether to do as many others will say, ‘something is better than nothing,’ or claim victory that this bill, rather than the horrible bill passed by the Senate, is the one we’re voting on.”
Anderson believes the anti-bullying proposal should require schools to report incidents of bullying to the state. He said the measure should also protect kids against bullying via the Internet and should lay out specific protections for gay and lesbian kids.
