http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6o0TYF8Xm4&feature=youtu.be
A new bill in the New Mexico Senate looks to require school districts around the state to revamp and review bullying prevention programs every year.
Two organizations are mobilizing a push for New Mexico Senate Bill 393, which is also known as the, “Safe Schools Act.”
Equality New Mexico, an organization that is pushing for the bill, says it works to achieve a fair and inclusive public education for LGBTQ Youth, and says it is also working to build intersections between LGBTQ and immigrant communities.
Myra Llerenas, with Equality New Mexico says that the group is trying to gather support for the Safe Schools Bill through workshops and outreach training.
“We are having people sign pledge cards in support of the Safe Schools Bill, because Equality New Mexico believes a safe school is very important.”
Equality New Mexico is also working with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico to spread awareness of the bill. Vicki Guabeca with The ACLU of New Mexico says they have worked with different school organizations across the state to stop bullying.
“We work with a lot of G.S.A.’s (Gay-Straight Alliances) at high schools throughout the state, and of course we are very interested in protecting any individual against bullying in school settings, and so that just seemed like a very natural connection to work with Equality New Mexico,” says Guabeca.
The 'Safe Schools Bill' is sponsored by Democratic State Senator William Soules (Dist. 37). Soules is a teacher at Oñate High School in Las Cruces, He says in his profession he sees the need for bullying prevention programs everyday.
“When you have a student that has been bullied or picked on all the time, what happens is that they go into their shell, they are more likely to be absent, they don’t’ participate. I teach psychology, and we know that the stress hormones in your brain goes up, because of the stress of being bullied, your learning goes down.” Soules says, “A year or two ago, we had a big instance where there was a bunch of online bullying going on, and you see people who are afraid wandering the halls, and again when they are afraid they’re less likely to come to school, because that’s where it’s happening and we can’t educate them as teacher.”
Sen. Soules says the bill would also track when and where bullying occurs in New Mexico schools, to better understand how prevention programs can adapt to meet the need.