ATLANTA — Efforts to update Georgia’s anti-bullying statute stalled in the House as its supporters faced opposition from fellow representatives.
Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, tabled the bill Thursday after lengthy debate with his colleagues. House Bill 927 would expand the state’s current law against bullying to include students in kindergarten through fifth grade and would allow administrators to transfer a bully to another school after the first incident rather than the third.
The bill would also make it a crime for principals to knowingly not report bullying to authorities. Opponents argued that overzealous enforcement could unnecessarily punish some students.
The bill was prompted by an incident involving an 11-year-old DeKalb County student who allegedly killed himself last year because of merciless teasing.
In a separate incident, the parents of a Murray County High School junior who hanged himself last year have filed suit against the county schools for what they claim was unrestrained bullying over the course of two years.
Tyler Lee Long’s parents, David and Tina Long, claim in their federal lawsuit that the school and principal took no action to prevent the bullying or discipline the bullies, according to court documents.
Murray County Schools officials have said the system and principal acted appropriately.