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Cyberbullying measure passes House Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The House on Monday approved legislation requiring school districts to adopt policies to discourage online bullying and a bill to encourage businesses that use grocery carts to provide sanitary wipes for customers. The Senate passed a measure that would add improvement districts, property owners associations and developers to the list of entities required to report the installation of underground lines. House Bill 1072 by Rep. Shirley Walters, R-Greenwood, would expand current state law requiring school districts to have policies to prevent bullying of students to include cyberbullying. "Each individual school district has developed their own policy and their own punishment for the different kinds of bullying, whether it be suspension, letters home to parents, whatever it is, they can develop their own policy," Walters said. "Only recently have we really come on to the fact that there has been electronic bullying." She said she filed the bill after a 2004 incident in the Greenwood School District, where two students were suspended over a Web site, operated from their home computers, that contained what school officials considered threatening material. The bill would add the term "by an electronic act" to the current definition of bullying. It stipulates that cyberbullying could occur on or off school grounds. The bill was approved by a 91-7 vote and now goes to the Senate. HB 1040 by Rep. Fred Allen, D-Little Rock, would create the Arkansas Health-Conscious Shopper Program, which would encourage businesses that use shopping carts to voluntarily provide sanitary wipes to customers. The measure requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the guidelines for the program. "I was not aware of all the germs and viruses that exist on shopping carts," Allen told House members. He said the bill only encourages businesses to participate and does not include any penalties for not participating. "This is a voluntary measure to increase awareness and provide protection," he said. "There is nothing that I see that is really controversial in this bill." The bill passed, 89-6, and goes to the Senate. The House also approved, 83-13, HB 1071 by Walters which would prohibit substitute teachers who do not have a bachelor's degree or an Arkansas teacher's license from teaching a class of students for more than 30 days. Walters said some schools, where a teacher has had to take an extended absence, have discovered a loophole in the current law and are having a substitute instructor teach the class for 28 days, then bring in a different substitute. Rep. Steve Breedlove, D-Greenwood, a former school administrator, opposed the measure, saying it could be a burden on some school districts that don't have a large pool of substitute teachers from which to select. "This would place an undue hardship on small school districts," he said. But Rep. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said state law allows school districts to apply to the state Board of Education for a waiver if they cannot find a qualified substitute teacher. The bill goes to the Senate. Meanwhile Monday, the Senate approved a measure would add improvement districts, property owners association, developers and other entities that install underground lines such as cables to the list of entities that report to the Arkansas One Call center. The center, set up by private groups but authorized by the state, is the place to call for contractors and others who wish to find out the location of natural gas lines, phone cables and other underground lines before they dig. Senate Bill 82 by Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, passed 35-0 and goes to the House. Baker said the growth of technology and increased digging, including for natural gas exploration, required the change. The measure would take effect Jan. 1, 2008. |
