Asia[edit]

Philippines[edit]
The Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 was signed into law
by Former President Benigno Aquino III on September 6, 2013. The law
requires all elementary and secondary schools in the country to adopt an
anti-bullying policy. According to a study conducted on 2008 by the
Britain-based Plan International, 50 percent of school children in
the Philippines experienced bullying either by their teachers or their peers.[1][2]

North America[edit]
Canada[edit]
This law occurred in 2012. The provincial government of Quebec initiated
legislation providing for anti-bullying laws, with the Quebec law having come
into effect in 2012.[3] Federal politicians also debated the groundwork for a
national anti-bullying strategy the same year.[4]

United States[edit]
History[edit]

All fifty states in the United States have passed school anti-bullying legislation,
the first being Georgia in 1999. Montana became the most recent, and last,
state to adopt anti-bullying legislation in April, 2015. A watchdog
organization called Bully Police USA advocates for and reports on
anti-bullying legislation.[5]

North Dakota's legislature passed and Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a bill into
law April 22, 2011, which defines bullying in state law and outlines
prevention policies for North Dakota public schools. North Dakota has been
praised for their new law. Prior to its passage, North Dakota has passed an
anti-bullying legislation.

Georgia's anti-bullying legislation was strengthened in 2010 with the passage

of Senate Bill 250, which included a provision allowing for those accused of
bullying another student to be reassigned to another school in order to
separate the offender from the victim of bullying.[6]
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act is part of the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001. It provides federal support to promote school safety
but does not specifically address bullying and harassment in schools. There are
no federal laws dealing directly with school bullying;[7] however, bullying may
trigger responsibilities under one or more of the federal anti-discrimination
laws enforced by the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil
Rights.[8]

Starting in September 2011, the State of New Jersey will enforce the
toughest bullying law in the country. Each school will have to report each case
of bullying to the State, and the State will grade each school based on bullying
standards, policies, and incidents. Each school must have an effective plan to
deal with bullying. All school administrators and teachers are required to deal
with any incidents of bullying reported to them or witnessed by them.
Teachers must report any bullying incidents they witness to the administrators.
Bullies risk suspensions to expulsions if convicted of any type of bullying; from
minor teasing to severe cases.

Legal scholar Jonathan Burley has stated "bullying is an extremely serious

injustice towards our children" and has been a consistent advocate of
anti-bullying legislation.[9] Others have been more critical of this legislation for
being punitive and criminalizing the issue.[10]

Although there currently exists no federal assistance for anti-bullying,

Thursday's Child[11] offers a 24-hour helpline for children, teens and young
adults in the U.S., who are bullying victims, at 1 (800) USA KIDS or (818)
831-1234 from a mobile device. Currently it is the only such helpline in North
America.

Controversy[edit]

The National School Safety and Security Services questions the motive behind
some anti-bullying legislation. The line between “feel-good legislation” and
“meaningful legislation” is not clear at the moment and The National School
Safety and Security Services suggests “unfunded state mandates and an
overemphasis on any one component of school safety will likely have minimal
impact on school safety and could potentially upset the comprehensive
approach to school safe recommended by most school safety professionals” [12]
According to National Safety and Securities Services “Anti-bullying legislation,
typically an unfunded mandate requiring schools to have anti-bullying policies
but providing no financial resources to improve school climate and security,
offer more political hype than substance for helping school administrators
address the problem. [12]

Gail Garinger, Child Advocate for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, advises

legislators not to push new legislation each time the media highlights a new
bullying incident, saying, "Maybe a new law is needed in your state to deal
with a situation, but don’t rush to do it. Sit down. Really talk about what
happened." She adds, "I think school officials have gotten really frightened
because of what’s been occurring, and it’s much easier to take a zero-tolerance
approach and just label everything quickly as bullying and pass it on to
someone else to deal with, rather than try to work out a creative solution
within the school that’s best for everyone involved."[13]

LGBTQ bullying[edit]
Main article: Gay bashing

Some states of the United States have implemented laws to address school bullying.

State law that prohibits discrimination against students based on sexual orientation
and gender identity

State law that prohibits discrimination against students based on sexual orientation
only
 State law that prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender
identity

State school regulation or ethical code for teachers that address discrimination and/or
bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity

State school regulation or ethical code for teachers that address discrimination and/or
bullying of students based on sexual orientation only

----

State law that forbids instruction on LGBT issues within public schools

State law that forbids local school districts from having anti-bullying policies that
enumerate protected classes of students

----

State law that prohibits bullying in school but lists no categories of protection

No statewide law that specifically prohibits bullying in schools

Anti-bullying legislation received national attention after

the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi.[14] In the wake of
the incident, New Jersey strengthened its anti-bullying legislation by passing a
bill called “The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights.”[15] Garden State
Equality Chairman Steve Goldstein called New Jersey's bill the "toughest"
anti-bullying law in the country. The bill states administrators who do not
investigate reports of bullying can be disciplined.[16]

Various organizations provide resources and support

to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. These
organizations include The Trevor Project, The Tyler Clementi Foundation, It
Gets Better Project, and The Matthew Shepard Foundation.[17]

Cyberbullying[edit]
Main article: Cyberbullying

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 20 percent of children

age 11-18 have been victims of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as
“willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones,
and other electronic devices.” [18] Cyberbullying can occur 24 hours a day, 7
days a week.[19]

In August 2008, the California State Legislature passed a law directly related
with cyber-bullying. The legislation gives school administrators the authority
to discipline students for bullying others offline or online.[20]

Many states already have existing criminal and civil remedies to deal with
cyberbullying; extreme cases would fall under criminal
harassment or stalking laws, or targets of such extreme bullying could
pursue civil action for intentional infliction of emotional
distress or defamation. In the summer of 2011, Public Act 11-232 made
significant changes to the state of Connecticut statute which defines bullying as
the following: (A) The repeated use by one or more students of a written, oral
or electronic communication, such as cyber bullying, directed at or referring to
another student attending school in the same school district, or (B) a physical
act or gesture by one or more students repeatedly directed at another student
attending school in the same school district, that (i) causes physical or
emotional harm to himself or herself, or of damage to his or her property, (ii)
places such student in reasonable fear of harm to himself or herself, or of
damage to his or her property, (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for
such student, (iv) infringes on the rights of such student at school, or (v)
substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a
school

Beyond this, bullying includes, but is not limited to “a written, oral or

electronic communication or physical act or gesture based on any actual or
perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion ancestry,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, or mental,
physical, developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an
individual or group who has or is perceived to have one or more of such
characteristics." (Connecticut Department of Education)

Effective 1 December 2012, North Carolina has made it a crime for students
to bully their teachers. Students can face jail time and/or a $1,000 fine for
cyberbullying school employees. Prohibited conduct includes posting a photo of
a teacher on the internet, making a fake website, signing a teacher up for junk
mail.[21]

South America[edit]
Chile[edit]
On September 7, 2011, Chile's Congress approved "The Law about School
Violence" that amended the General Law on Education to establish clear
definitions, procedures, and penalties for school violence and bullying.[22]

The Law defines bullying as any repeated aggression or harassment that occurs
in or outside the educational institution, by one student or a group towards
another, causing mistreatment, humiliation, or fear. Bullying may be
perpetrated in person or through any means, including cyber-bullying.
Educational institutions are required to create a Committee of Good School
Coexistence (Comité de Buena Convivencia Escolar) that will be in charge of
managing and taking all the measures needed to secure a non-violent school
life.[23]

Europe[edit]
Austria[edit]
In Austria, laws impose a legal duty of care on teachers to ensure the safety
and well-being of their students. Thus, teachers have both a professional and
moral obligation to intervene in bullying episodes.[24]

United Kingdom[edit]
Section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 provides for state
schools for 'Determination by head teacher of behavior policy'

(1)The head teacher of a relevant school must determine measures to be taken

with a view to—

(a)promoting, among pupils, self-discipline and proper regard for authority,

(b)encouraging good behavior and respect for others on the part of pupils and,
in particular, preventing all forms of bullying among pupils,

(c)securing that the standard of behavior of pupils is acceptable,

(d)securing that pupils complete any tasks reasonably assigned to them in
connection with their education, and

(e)otherwise regulating the conduct of pupils.

(2)The head teacher must in determining such measures—

(a)act in accordance with the current statement made by the governing body
under section 88(2)(a), and

(b)have regard to any notification or guidance given to him under section

88(2)(b).

(3)The standard of behavior which is to be regarded as acceptable must be

determined by the head teacher, so far as it is not determined by the
governing body.

(4)The measures which the head teacher determines under subsection (1) must
include the making of rules and provision for disciplinary penalties (as defined
by section 90).

(5)The measures which the head teacher determines under subsection (1) may,
to such extent as is reasonable, include measures to be taken with a view to
regulating the conduct of pupils at a time when they are not on the premises
of the school and are not under the lawful control or charge of a member of
the staff of the school.

(6)The measures determined by the head teacher under subsection (1) must be
publicised by him in the form of a written document as follows—

(a)he must make the measures generally known within the school and to
parents of registered pupils at the school, and

(b)he must in particular, at least once in every school year, take steps to bring
them to the attention of all such pupils and parents and all persons who work
at the school (whether or not for payment).