Opening Statement of Councilmember David Grosso

Chairperson, Committee on Education

Committee of the Whole
Joint Public Roundtable on “Youth Bullying in the District of Columbia”
January 14, 2019

I am At-Large Councilmember David Grosso, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, and I am

calling this public roundtable on youth bullying in the District of Columbia to order.

I want to start by acknowledging that this meeting is taking place on the traditional land of the
Anacostan People of the Piscataway Tribe.

The purpose of today’s roundtable is three-fold: to discuss the results of the recently sunsetted Youth
Bullying Prevention Act of 2012; to follow up on our most recent annual youth roundtable, during which
a great number of students spoke compellingly about physical and emotional violence in their
classrooms and on school grounds; and to consider implementation of the Youth Suicide Prevention
and School Climate Survey Amendment Act of 2016.

The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 required schools and other youth-serving agencies to adopt
comprehensive anti-bullying policies, implement thorough reporting and investigation procedures,
provide training for staff, and maintain and report incident data. As a result, all of our schools – both
DCPS and public charter – have introduced bullying prevention policies.

But bullying continues to be an issue for our students. According to the last report by the Office of
Human Rights and Child Trends, 11.5% of high school students and 32.5% of middle schoolers reported
being bullied during the 2017-2018 school year, and cyberbullying increased to 8.9% and 13.5%,
respectively.

We also know from this data that that black, Latinx, and mixed-race students perceive their school
environment more negatively than white students – particularly when it comes to physical safety and
cultural and linguistic competence – and that transgender students are far more likely to face bullying
than their cisgender peers.

Closely related is the Youth Suicide Prevention and School Climate Survey Amendment Act of 2016,
which mandates at least two hours of annual suicide prevention, intervention, and post-intervention
training for all school-based personnel and requires the Office of the State Superintendent of Education
to develop and publish a model suicide prevention policy and pilot annual school climate surveys.

It is heartbreaking that, in DC, 10-15% of middle and high school students have made a suicide attempt
and another 20% have made a plan to do so. For youth ages 15-24, suicide remains the third leading
cause of death.

These numbers don’t exist in isolation. Across the US, violent hate crimes have continued to rise over
the last several years, with bias-related attacks reaching a 16-year high in 2018 and several recent high-
profile incidents of anti-Semitic violence fresh on our minds. At the same time, youth suicide attempts
have increased more than 50% over the last two decades, with markedly high rates for black and LGBT
youth – especially transgender youth.

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The impacts of bullying are clear – for students who are bullied, the students who bully, and those
students who simply witness bullying amongst their peers. The question is whether our schools and
agencies are prepared to fully implement the policies, programs, reporting, and evaluation needed to
fully comply with both the Youth Bullying Prevention Act and the Youth Suicide Prevention and School
Climate Survey Amendment Act, ensuring that every student is guaranteed a school environment in
which they are – and they feel – safe, loved, and supported.

We look forward to hearing today from various youth organizations, community members, and
government witnesses. For now, I will turn to my colleagues for any opening statements.

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