Source: Miami Herald, Cape Coral News-Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- For the last several years, proponents of anti-bullying legislation have fought for a state law that would prohibit harassment of students. Every year, the bills failed.

Qnews update: Governor signs tough new Florida anti-bullying law (10-June-08)

But on Wednesday, supporters were cheering after the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act unanimously passed the Florida Senate; it previously got unanimous support in the House of Representatives. Next stop: Gov. Charlie Crist, who told reporters he would probably sign it into law.

''I'm against bullying, too,'' he said.

Named after a Cape Coral teen who committed suicide in 2005 after being bullied, the measure would require school districts to adopt policies prohibiting bullying and harassment.

Debbie Johnston, Jeffrey's mother, said the Cape Coral teenager received the best graduation present he could have hoped for Wednesday afternoon when anti-bullying bill unanimously passed the Florida Senate after dying in a Senate committee the last two years.

Equality Florida and a coalition of other gay-rights groups made a late attempt to have the bill amended to specifically protect students from harassment based on perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

At a lobbying day they dubbed "gay and transgender hate crimes awareness day," the activist groups urged lawmakers to accept an amendment offered by Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, that would have added the more specific language to the bill.

The gay-rights group were joined by parents of a young gay man who was murdered in a hate crime held as they attempted to bring attention to the "alarming statistics" that show one out of every five hate crimes in the state is aimed at gay or transgendered persons.

The amendment was not made to the bill, however, as the legislature rushed toward its scheduled adjournment tomorrow.

Although the bill does not specify categories of students, legislators clarified that the law would prohibit harassment targeted at specific characteristics, such as disability, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation, Miami-Herald reports.

Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida expressed satisfaction with the final results according to the Herald. "We believe that the sponsors have put districts on notice that they have to include protections for gay and transgendered students or they're breaking the law."

Sen. Carey Baker, a Eustis Republican and the bill's Senate sponsor, said, "The intent of this legislation is to protect all children from all types of bullying."

Baker, who opposed the amendment offered by Aronberg, insisted to the News-Press shortly before its passage, "Any child anywhere, no matter what their background is, will be protected by this legislation."

Under the law, each of the state's 67 districts must adopt a policy that complies with the new requirements by Dec. 1. If they don't comply, districts could lose a portion of the state's nearly $77 million for "safe schools" programs.

Debbie Johnston, Jeffrey's mother, wiped tears from her eyes as she sat in the Senate gallery and watched the vote. This was her third session working to get the bill passed. "We're going to keep working to make sure that no child has to stay home because they're afraid of what's going to happen at school or at the bus stop," she said. "And no teacher will have to sit there and watch a child bullied to death without being able to do anything about it. Now we can do something and we will."

The law, which also prohibits cyber-bullying -- harassing or threatening another using the Internet -- would require districts to have a process for reporting and investigating bullying claims. It also mandates counseling for bullies and victims.

Since Jeff died, his mother has worked to get the bill named after him passed. She said it was a way of protecting other students, an effort to prevent a similar tragedy and a way to preserve his legacy.

"I know he's happy and that he's looking down right now," said Johnston, 50, a first-grade teacher at Hector A. Cafferata Elementary. "It's going to do a lot of good for a lot of kids everywhere."

Johnston used to teach eighth-grade science at Trafalgar, including the years when Jeff was attending. She and other teachers did successfully stop the in-person teasing and harassing of Jeff, but were never able to keep the bully from using the Internet to spread rumors about Jeff.

Three of Johnston's former students were with her to watch the Senate vote. They also watched her cry tears of joy after seeing the hard work she had put in over the last three years come to fruition.

If Crist signs the bill as expected, Florida would become the 36th state in the nation with a law prohibiting bullying and harassment, according to anti-bullying organization Bully Police USA. The group rates states on its website, www.bullypolice.org, and has given Florida an F because it didn't have a law in place.

Brenda High, the organization's founder and mother of a teen who committed suicide in 1998 after being bullied, said the new law has potential to rate A++.

"All over the country, I get e-mails from parents who complain their kids have been assaulted and bullied and harassed," she said. The law "tells the schools that they can't just allow this type of garbage to go on."

"This is a win for kids," said David Barkey, southern area counsel for the Anti-Defamation League. "Unfortunately, bullying is epidemic in our schools. Cyber-bullying is growing exponentially. This is a real major step in trying to counter bullying in our schools, but of course, a law is only as good as it's enforced."

Full article: Anti-bullying bill passes Senate; signing expected | Miami Herald
Crist has said he’ll sign act named for Cape teen | News-Press