By Vin Gopal
Every child deserves to feel safe.
That’s why when the state Senate comes back into session in October, which is National Bullying Prevention Month, anti-bullying legislation will continue to be a top priority for our Legislative District 11 office and for the Senate Education Committee.
Earlier this summer, we introduced the "Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act" in the Senate to require nonpublic schools to adopt and publish clear policies addressing cyberbullying, bullying, and harassment. My LD11 Partners, Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, have sponsored this legislation in the Assembly. It would provide nonpublic school students the same protections as public schools are required to provide under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.
Bullying takes many forms, from picking on other kids on the playground to sophisticated cyberbullying over social media. All forms of bullying can have lasting effects on a child and should not be tolerated in any environment. Jack Reid, for whom our legislation is named, was a victim of bullying who died by suicide in April 2022 after being bullied for a year at the boarding school he attended. He was only 17.
Children often carry the emotional and psychological scars of bullying into adulthood. Seeing a child bullied can be heartbreaking for parents and the child’s family as well.
We worked with Jack’s parents, William and Elizabeth Reid, on this bill, which they say will close a real gap in protection for more than 200,000 New Jersey students attending nonpublic schools with no legal protection against bullying. Our bill calls for the principal or chief school administrator to promptly investigate an incident, report their findings to the victim, and take appropriate action to stop any confirmed harassment or bullying, and ensure the safety of the victim.
Everyone in the LD11 office is proud of Assemblywoman Peterpaul for being one of the authors of the strongest anti-bullying laws in the country, New Jersey’s “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights”. You can find many anti-bullying resources for parents, teachers, and kids by visiting the Department of Education’s website www.nj.gov/education and searching “Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB): Information for Families and Caregivers”.
In an unrelated matter, we want to make sure you are aware that our office is conducting Mobile Office Hours, where our constituent services team takes the office on the road to visit residents in the towns where they live, and PAS-1 Application Workshops throughout the district. Our next Mobile Office Hours include today, Thursday, Sept. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Asbury Park Senior Center, and Sept. 29 at the Monmouth County Library - Ocean Township Branch. Upcoming PAS-1 Workshops include Sept. 23 at the Red Bank Public Library; Sept. 30 at the Red Bank Senior Center; Oct. 1 at the Freehold Township Senior Center, and Oct. 8 at the Neptune Senior Center.
You will find a complete list of scheduled Mobile Office Hours and PAS-1 Workshops on the Events page of Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul’s blog, www.donlonpeterpaul.com/, or you may contact our LD11 office at (732) 704-3808, or follow us on social media.
We hope to see you there.
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