Ley 37 del 2008
Resumen
Esta ley enmienda la Ley del Consejo General de Educación de Puerto Rico para exigir a las escuelas privadas con niveles preescolar, elemental, superior, vocacional, técnico y de altas destrezas que presenten evidencia de haber establecido e implementado políticas y protocolos definidos, concretos y aplicables contra el acoso y el hostigamiento entre estudiantes para la renovación o emisión de licencias de operación.
Contenido
(No. 37)
(Approved April 10, 2008)
AN ACT
To amend subsections (2) and (3); add a new subsection (4); and to redesignate current subsection (4) as (5) of Section 16 of Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico General Education Council Act of 1999," in order to subject the renewal or issuance of licenses to operate private schools with preschool, elementary, high school, vocational, technical and high skills levels to the presentation of attesting evidence that the same have set forth and implemented definite, concrete and enforceable policies and protocols against harassment and bullying among students.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
The abusive conduct that is manifested among students internationally known as the "bullying phenomenon" and which consist of an abusive, intentional and harmful conduct whose main figures are school age youths is not an isolated episode, but rather a persistent pattern of conduct that may last for weeks, months and even years. Most bullies act motivated by the abuse of power and a desire to intimidate and control. A specific trait of these relations is that the student or group thereof, who consider themselves big shots, treats a fellow classmate in a tyrannical manner, which involves repeated harassment, oppression and terrorizing him/her, and tormenting him/her to the point of making their classmate their habitual victim.
Bullying is defined as a continuous violence, whether physical or mental, by part of a school age individual or group directed to another
school age individual who is incapable of defending him/herself in this situation and that occurs in the school environment.
Verbal abuse (insults, threats, bullying and discredit) is the most frequent conduct as reported by students, followed by social alienation. The patios, halls, bathrooms, entrances and exits of schools are common and frequent places where this type of conduct occurs. However, with time (months or years), the physical space may be extended as the victimization process is established. Following verbal abuse and social alienation, the most prevailing conducts are direct physical abuse and the pressure or obligating others to commit aggressions (striking, black mail), and lastly, there is the threat with weapons and sexual harassment. In one way or another, more than one modality of abuse is present in all cases, and in all of these, psychological abuse is latent in different degrees.
Various studies show that bullying is favored by a series of factors among which the passivity of fellow classmates stands out. It seems as if the rest of the group, when a bullying relation toward a classmate is established, chooses to support this conduct or at least, remains idle. The passivity of witnesses has defensive elements: generally it has the intention of avoiding becoming possible targets of the attacks ("while they are doing it to others, they won't do it to me)." So, from mere observers, they become accomplices of the situation and thus, the incidents of abuse receives group support; in fact, it is the group itself that, to a certain extent, promotes and maintains said conduct by alienating and not helping the victim. According to statistics, classmates witness at least $15-20 %$ of these situations. Therefore, it is not a conduct unknown to them, but rather concealed, and in general it goes unnoticed by adults.
The school center provides a favorable place for the first non-family social interaction of all individuals. The implications of social relations in the school context for the adaptation of the child are as important as those that are derived from the context of family. The influence of others shall determine, in part, how the child shall construct his/her own way of thinking and the representation of the physical and social world.
The consequence of this type of conduct, whether in the short or the long term, on children could be disastrous. Those who have been victims of a bully suffer more than their peers from the following: depression, alienation, anxiety, low self-esteem and inclusively of thoughts of suicide. [Limber, S.P. (2002). Bullying among children and youth. Proceedings of the Educational Forum on Adolescent Health: Youth Bullying. Chicago: American Medical Association]. On the other hand, the abuser or bully may show impulsivity, lack of empathy, difficulty in following patterns and positive attitudes towards violence. To make things even worse, it has been reported that those who have been identified as bullies in many cases carry weapons for their own defense or to intimidate others. [Cunningham, P.B., Henggeler, S.W., Limber, S.P. Melton, G.B., and Nation, N.A. (2000). Patterns and correlates of gun ownership among nonmetropolitan and middle school students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 432-442].
In Nabozny vs. Podlesney, 92 F.3d 446 (7 ${ }^{ ext {th }}$ Cir. 1996), a young man who realized that he was a homosexual and decided not to hide it, was the victim of his classmates since the seventh grade. His classmates insulted him, mocked him, struck him and spit on him. In an incident of physical abuse, while Nabozny was in the bathroom using the urinal, they hit him in his knee, which made him fall over the urinal and then one of his abusers urinated on him. In another incident, while other students looked on and
laughed, he was kicked in the stomach for ten minutes, to the extent that the kicking caused him internal bleeding. Nabozny attempted suicide twice during high school due to the continuous abuse to which he was subjected and the inaction of school authorities. Every time Nabozny reported the abuse, school authorities merely said that "boys will be boys," and that Nabozny should expect such behavior for being openly gay.
In view of the seriousness of this matter, there are several states that have undertaken a firm public policy to fight this evil. Among these are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. These states have established a series of important initiatives as part of an active government for the prevention of aggression and abuse between students in schools. Although they vary according to the program, all measures have certain characteristics in common, to wit: a new focus to create an environment or atmosphere that discourages abusive conduct in school; a survey among students to determine the nature and extent of said conduct in the participants; trainings for the teaching personnel so that they may, in turn, recognize and take action against this type of abuse; consistent regulations against this type of conduct, among others.
Taking into consideration the grave consequences of the conduct commonly known as "bullying," it is indispensable for the State to take the measures it deems necessary to effectively thwart said conduct. In the opinion of the proponents of the present Act, it is a mechanism that shall be effective in assuring that the private schools with preschool, elementary, high school, vocational, technical and high skills levels do their part to prevent this deplorable conduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.- Subsections (2) and (3) are hereby amended; a new subsection (4) is hereby added; and the current subsection (4) is hereby redesignated as (5) of Section 16 of Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 16.- Evaluation of Schools.- The evaluation standards that the Council establishes for its licensing and accreditation processes shall have as their purpose: (1) ... (2) to assure that the school facilities are satisfactory and do not represent a hazard to the health and safety of the students; (3) to ensure that the schools can honor the commitments made with its students; (4) to require attesting evidence to private schools at the preschool, elementary, high school, vocational, technical and high skills level that they have set forth and implemented definite, concrete and enforceable policies and protocols against harassment and bullying among students. (5) ..." Section 2.- For the purposes of this Act, harassment and bullying among students refers to the act of systematic, psychological, physical or sexual violence by a student or group of students towards one or more classmates, who are not in a position to defend themselves.
Section 3.- The new requirement introduced in this Act shall be of prospective application. The same shall be required to all natural or juridical persons that wish to renew or obtain a license to operate a private school
with preschool, elementary, high school, vocational, technical and high skills levels as of three hundred and sixty (360) days of the approval of this Act.
Section 4.- The Chairperson of the General Education Council shall have a term not greater than one hundred and eighty (180) days after the approval of this Act to amend or promulgate the regulations as deemed pertinent, pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, known as the "Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico."
Section 5.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 37 (H.B. 3655) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$. Session of the $15^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsections (2) and (3); add a new subsection (4); and to redesignate current subsection (4) as (5) of Section 16 of Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico General Education Council Act of 1999," in order to subject the renewal or issuance of licenses to operate private schools with preschool, elementary, high school, vocational, technical and high skills levels to the presentation of attesting evidence that the same have set forth and implemented definite, concrete and enforceable policies and protocols against harassment and bullying among students, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $30^{ ext {th }}$ of June of 2009.
Solange I. De Lahongrais Director