Guest AuthorI am against bullying. Everyone is.
Even bullies are against bullies when they are the ones being bullied.
The Florida Department of Education defines bullying as, “Systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment; or unreasonably interfere with the individual’s school performance or participation.”
It sounds like every teacher breaks this rule every day they give a test. Seriously, would a teacher who threatens “pop quizzes” for discipline purposes fit this definition? Aren’t they “chronically inflicting…psychological distress on one or more students”?
By Oct. 1, bullying could be a criminal offense. Senate Bill 548 and House Bill 0451 would criminalize bullying as a second-degree misdemeanor and a first-degree misdemeanor for aggravated bullying. This bill expands the bullying statute in place to include cyber-bullying.
A first-degree misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a second-degree misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to 60 days in jail.
Is that really what we want? Putting schoolchildren in jail can’t be the answer. I know there are horrific stories of children who were bullied to the point where they hurt themselves or even committed suicide, but these penalties seem extreme even for a law-and-order Republican like myself.
We all hate bullying because at some point we all have been bullied. And whether we want to believe it or not, at some point during our school years we have all been guilty of bullying.
I, for instance, was required to give the prayer before a Thanksgiving meal by a teacher because my dad was a minister. I was harassed relentlessly. I may have even got in a good-old fashioned tussle over it, but no one went to jail, nor did anyone deserve to. We were both sent to the principal’s office for a spanking and told to get over it.
These bills, while they sound great, no doubt will result in unintended consequences. I’m sure glad my kids are out of school and won’t have to face them.
Jamie Miller has been involved in more than five Republican statewide campaigns in Florida serving as campaign manager, senior advisor, or general consultant. He lives in Sarasota. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
