Attorney General Matt Denn’s (D) criminal justice reform proposals are trickling into the General Assembly – the latest focusing on school bullying.
Introduced this week, the bill would not force schools to contact police for low-level bullying like they’re currently mandated to do, but still allow them the option if they think it’s necessary.
Denn says 130 students were sent to the police over school fights that didn't result in serious injuries.
"The criminal justice system is not a good place for kids, and while sometimes it is necessary, we should be thoughtful about when we use it," he said in a statement.
Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) co-sponsors the bill, saying it’s a shift away from the zero-tolerance policies that flooded school systems throughout the nation in recent years.
“It’s allowing common sense to enter back into the decision making of the schools where they don’t have to, they’re not required to bring law enforcement in when there’s an incident at school,” Pettyjohn said.
If police aren’t notified, school officials would still contact the kids’ parents and they’d be told about how to contact the state’s school bullying ombudsman in the Department of Justice if they feel not enough is being done to address the issue.
Denn and other lawmakers also say it can keep a shoving match from marring a kid’s criminal record – and hopefully keep them out of the courts altogether.
“As we’re going into springtime, there’s going to be more kids out there on the playground where there might be some instances where there are some little scuffles on the playground. But we want to make sure that we’re pursuing them in a way that really reflects the seriousness of what’s going on,” Pettyjohn said.
It's currently awaiting a committee hearing in the state Senate.