Rep. Vagnozzi offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 72.

            A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to advance legislation to address the problem of bullying in schools through the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, by amending the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act.

            Whereas, The widespread problem of bullying affects one out of three American children in sixth through the tenth grades. It can lead to more serious consequences, including violent crime and death; and

            Whereas, The most serious bullies are seven times more likely than other children to carry a weapon to school. Moreover, one study demonstrated that four of every ten boys who bullied others as a child had three or four criminal convictions by the time they turned age 24; and

            Whereas, Fortunately, there are cost-effective, evidence-based programs that can prevent bullying and later crime and violence. For example, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program produced a 50 percent reduction in bullying in Norway and a 20 percent reduction when it was replicated in South Carolina; and

            Whereas, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have recognized this approach as a model program. Key components include:

· A school survey to determine the prevalence of bullying;

· Training, through a school conference day, for all school personnel and parent and student representatives, to review the survey results and plan program implementation;

· A bullying prevention committee (including a school administrator, a teacher from each grade, a guidance counselor, a school-based mental health professional or school psychologist, and parent and student representatives) to implement the program;

· School rules prohibiting bullying and outlining appropriate behaviors and appropriate consequences for those who engage in bullying as well as guidelines for those who help prevent bullying;

· Adequate adult supervision of outdoor areas, hallways, the lunchroom, and other specific areas where bullying is likely to take place;

· Class meetings to discuss the problem of bullying;

· Individual interventions with the bully, parents, and school staff, and interventions with the bullied child, parents, and school staff; and

· Parent involvement through participation in meetings, trainings, and individual interventions, as well as through information dissemination

 ;now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to advance legislation to address the problem of bullying in our nation's schools as part of the Congress' reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, by amending the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act to facilitate the implementation of these important evidence-based bullying-prevention program components in every school district across the nation; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.