Anti-Bullying Law "Unfunded Mandate," School Board Says

The backed another district's effort to void part of the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act on Tuesday.

The Allamuchy school district has filed a complaint with the state's Council on Local Mandates, arguing that the act is an unfunded mandate.

The Paramus school board said the law "creates a significant drain on the human and financial resources of the district," in a resolution supporting Allamuchy's complaint.

"This is an unfunded mandate no matter how you cut it," Superintendent Joseph Lupo said. "If I tell you the number of hours that our staff is spending on this, I bet you're talking in the first five months, you're probably talking somewhere around $20,000 to $30,000 worth of time and effort when they could be doing other things."

Board members reiterated their support for the act's thrust, but complained the language of the law was too vague. Trustee Sharon Bower said every incident, no matter how small, had to go through the reporting process required by the anti-bullying law.

In the past, minor incidents might have been dealt with individually by teachers. The law requires that every incident of harassment, intimidation or bullying be reported to and investigated by administrators.

The state has attempted to address complaints that the law is too vague on Dec. 16, releasing a 79-page guide on how to implement the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.

Paramus saw an increase in violent incidents from the 2009-10 to the 2010-11 school years, from 12 to 19, according to recently released Department of Education data. The increase may be due to increased reporting of harassment, intimidation and bullying incidents.

“Though we cannot be certain whether the change in numbers reflects real increases or decreases in incidents or simply better reporting, we do know that the new statewide anti-bullying law has put a focus on violence and bullying in schools, which is leading to better identification and reporting from schools and districts," Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf said in a statement.