A growing group of parents, advocates and researchers are calling for the state to take action to beef up staff training and enforcement of anti-bullying policies.
They say the state needs to bolster its efforts, especially after the federal government largely dismantled its Office for Civil Rights last year. The effort also coincides with stories of increased bullying in the state’s public schools.
“(Bullying) is underreported, underacknowledged, undervalued as an important issue for kids all across the state, particularly kids of color, particularly kids with vulnerability, disabilities and kids who might be different or seen as different by peers,” said Christa Kelleher, the research and policy director at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School.
