School districts across the Commonwealth can expect an increase in bullying reports as a result of Kentucky’s new bullying law.
Senate Bill 228, which went into effect July 15, requires districts to report every incident of bullying, regardless of the outcome.
“You’re probably going to see your bullying incidents rise,” KSBA Director of Policy and eMeeting Services Katrina Kinman said. “As a board member, when you start seeing your safe school reports or discipline reports, if the councils provide those, you’re going to see increased numbers of bullying, whether it’s actual bullying per se or not.”
The legislation was a result of an anti-bullying task force appointed by then-Gov. Steve Beshear in 2015. The new law replaces House Bill 98, which was passed in 2008 and addressed bullying without calling it bullying.