Committee advances bill requiring parent notification after serious bullying incidents

Representative Chris Mathias told Idaho’s Senate Education Committee that House Bill 44 would require school districts to notify the parents of both the victim and the alleged bully when a bullying incident is serious enough to result in suspension. The committee voted to send the bill to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation.

The bill, Mathias said, is intended to put parents “in a position to be able to help their kids when it’s time sensitive and when they’re in their most need,” and to focus notifications on a smaller subset of incidents than a previous proposal. “This year, this law would require that parents are only received this notification in serious incidents, defined as those incidents that result in a suspension,”…