Missouri lawmakers join national campaign against school bullying

Intro:	In light of a federal campaign against school and cyber bullying, a Missouri Senate committee debated a state bill with a similar purpose.
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Wrap: The bill would require schools to produce its own definition of bullying, a policy for reporting instances of bullying, and procedures to conduct annual confidential surveys from students.

Jackson Democratic Senator and bill sponsor Jolie Justus says it is crucial Missouri implement its own attack against bullying.

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Description: "The reality is this is an incredibly serious situation. We have children who are terrorized, some to the point of taking their own lives. This is something that we actually have been working on for quite some time in the state, to make sure we have an effective bullying bill that takes care of the problem in the state."

If Missouri's plan were to pass the Senate and House floors, all schools in the state would have to develop anti-bullying policies by September 2012.

No one at the Senate hearing testified against the bill.

From the Missouri State Capitol, I'm Meghann Mollerus.

Intro:	On track with a White House campaign against school bullying, Missouri lawmakers are deliberating bills to reduce acts of bullying and increase awareness in state schools.
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Wrap: A Missouri Senate Committee discussed a bill that would require schools to produce and enforce anti-bullying policies, as well as implement these procedures by September 2012.

Morgan Keenan with the Safe Schools Coalition of Missouri says state laws do effectively reduce bullying.

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Description: "There's 13 states that have passed anti-bullying laws similar to this, that have enumeration, training mechanisms, and reporting encoded into the law. Of those 13 states, they've seen a 30% reduction on average when it comes to reported cases of bullying."

No one at the hearing testified against the bill.

From the Missouri State Capitol, I'm Meghann Mollerus.

Intro:	In light of a recent White House campaign against bullying, a Missouri Senate Committee debated a bill proposing anti-bullying policies in state schools.
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Wrap: The bill would require that by September, all schools have statements prohibiting bullying and procedures for how to report instances of bullying, harrassment, or discrimination.

In the hearing, Scott Emanuel with Growing American Youth recounted his own fear of being bullied for his identity.

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Description: "The last thing that I wanted to do in that school was to say not only am I Polish, but I'm also gay...because I thought, gosh, if they don't like me for being Polish, they're going to hate me for being gay."

Just last month, President Barack Obama held a White House conference on how to address school and cyber bullying in the country.

No one at the hearing testified against the bill.

From the Missouri State Capitol, I'm Meghann Mollerus.