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A masked parent and student walk to Eugene Field Elementary on the first day of school on Aug. 9, 2021. BEN FELDER/The Frontier

A former Oklahoma state lawmaker said she wrote a bullying prevention law to bolster public schools’ bullying responses after the death of a student from Perkins. The School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act requires districts to create policies for reporting and investigating bullying. More than 10 years later, former Rep. Lee Denney, R-Stillwater, said the law hasn’t had the impact she hoped. 

Okmulgee County resident Kalah Ballance is seeking changes to the law after her son Eli died by suicide after being bullied at school. 

Here are five takeaways from The Frontier’s reporting on the continued search for a stronger legislative solution to bullying: 

  1. The state bullying prevention law provides guidelines for school policies, including requiring districts to name a school official responsible for investigations and provide “timely notification” to families on bullying incidents. It also requires school employees to go through regular anti-bullying training. 
  2. The author of the state anti-bullying legislation told The Frontier that Republican legislators and school lobbyists requested language in the law to protect districts from litigation. One district in western Oklahoma argued in court that the law prevented it from legal responsibility for allegedly enforcing its bullying policy negligently, but the state Court of Civil Appeals disagreed in 2021. 
  3. Some lawyers are hesitant to take on a school in court because bullying-related cases are often lengthy and complicated. Even if the lawsuit is successful, state law sets a cap on damages that can be recovered from a governmental entity. 
  4. Legislators in Oklahoma are trying to update anti-bullying legislation, but recent attempts have been unsuccessful. Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill in 2021 that would have broadened the definition of bullying and required school employees to notify families of bullying within 24 hours. Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, introduced a bill last legislative session that would have made it a crime to threaten or harass another person on an online platform, but it also failed. 
  5. Ballance is pushing for legislation that would require administrators to investigate a bullying report within three business days and take action based on the findings within five business days. It would also encourage administrators to hold followup meetings with victims and perpetrators of bullying.