NORFOLK, Va. — As students head back to the classroom, some new laws are on the books in Virginia. One aims to stop bullies in their tracks.
Schools across the Commonwealth are now required to notify parents within 24 hours of a reported bullying incident. Before, the law only required the principal to inform the parent within five days.
Clara Huff, a 23-year-old author from Hampton Roads, knows firsthand what bullying feels like.
"We don’t know what we did wrong, we didn’t bother nobody," Clara said.
When Clara was in elementary school, she said a girl in her class started a rumor about her and her best friend. It quickly spread.
"I didn’t know why she did it. I don’t know what was her reason for doing what she did, but it affected me," Clara said.
Now, the 23-year-old works alongside her mother, Feona Huff, to encourage people to “Spread Love, Not Gossip.” She also penned an open letter as part of the book "A Letter to My Bully: Sticks, Stones, and Words Do Hurt" released in 2014.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt. Well, they do hurt," Feona said. That’s why she calls the new law in Virginia “spot on.”
One out of every five students in the U.S. has reported being bullied, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. 46% of students reported the incident to an adult at school.
This mother-daughter duo said the new 24-hour time frame will make a big difference.
"When they come to them, it’s a ‘let’s solve this together’ type of thing," Feona said.
Clara agrees.
"It’s good for teachers parents and students that we get it handled as soon as possible," she said.
Not only for the child who was bullied but also for the bully.
"Your child may be the one that’s the aggressor and you don’t know that because you just assume that, ‘Oh, it’s not my child,’ but it really is your child. It puts that pressure and that responsibility and that accountability," Feona said.
Clara has a message for anyone out there feeling powerless at the hands of their bully.
"To not let any of these experiences of what’s going on hold you back from having the best future possible," she said.
Other new laws that affect Virginia schools, students
That’s not the only new law in Virginia that will impact public education.
All primary and secondary schools are now required to have an automated external defibrillator in the building.
School boards must also partner with a public or private community mental health services provider by the beginning of this upcoming school year. The goal is to expand counseling services to students.
The General Assembly also passed a law that expanded several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act for students in grades four through eight.
Finally, each school division superintendent is now required to designate an employee to gather all reports of any and all employees who commit a felony or class 1 misdemeanor, or the equivalent offense in another state. They will then submit all the information gathered to the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety.