Temecula Parents Urge Stronger Response To School Bullying

TEMECULA, CA — Responding to growing concerns about bullying in the Temecula Valley Unified School District as well as the recent death of a bullied 13-year-old Moreno Valley boy, two parents are pushing for stronger anti-bullying policies at Temecula schools.

Dave and Alicia Vialpando said they received an outpouring of responses from students and parents over social media after sharing their concerns about bullying several weeks ago, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Now, Dave Vialpando plans to contact Superintendent Timothy Ritter to urge the district to take a more aggressive stance against bullying, and to push the school board to take up the issue as early as January.

The district already has a bullying policy that has been revised as recently as 2018, but Vialpandosaid he will propose a new set of procedures for handling bullying cases, according to the Press-Enterprise.

“Heaven forbid, we don’t want the tragic circumstances that happened in Moreno Valley … a couple months ago to happen here,” he said.

The Menace Of Bullies: Patch Advocacy Reporting Project

As part of Patch's national reporting project, we've been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

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