An anti-bullying bill sponsored by City Councilmember Alan Gerson cleared the first hurdle towards becoming law when it passed unanimously this week in the Council’s Education Committee. The legislation would mandate the reporting of bullying incidents in schools. Principals would be responsible for compiling records of and reporting the incidents. Current reporting methods are inadequate, said Dirk McCall, Gerson’s chief of staff. For example, McCall explained, at a recent hearing, Department of Education officials quoted police reports in saying only a handful of bullying incidents occurred citywide last year.
“It’s a very exciting bill,” McCall said.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg wanted to discuss further details of the bill before it goes before the full Council, McCall said. However, the bill is “veto-proof,” he added, since it has enough supporters to override a mayoral veto. Councilmember Christine Quinn is among the bill’s co-sponsors.
