Bill Text: DE HB386 | 2015-2016 | 148th General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Prevention Of Bullying Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-15 - Reported Out of Committee (JUDICIARY) in House with 6 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable [HB386 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2015-HB386-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Rep. Dukes & Sen. Lawson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 386

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PREVENTION OF BULLYING ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.Amend Chapter 5, Title 11, Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 623.Bullying; unclassified misdemeanor.

A person is guilty of bullying when they knowingly, by means of a written, electronic, verbal, or physical act or actions against another person:

(1) place another in reasonable fear of substantial harm to his or her emotional or physical well-being or substantial damages to his or her property; or

(2) create a hostile, threatening, humiliating, or abusive environment due to the pervasive or persistent actions or due to a power differential between the perpetrator and the victim; or

(3) interfere with a person having a safe environment necessary to facilitate education or work performance; or

(4) incites, solicits, or coerces an individual or group to demean, dehumanize, or embarrass another person to cause substantial emotional, psychological, or physical harm to that person.

Bullying is an unclassified misdemeanor.

SYNOPSIS

This legislation originated from the St. Thomas More Academy Criminal Justice class relating to Law and Society.

Currently Delaware law requires schools to prohibit bullying and otherwise prohibits criminal acts such as harassment, menacing, terroristic threatening, and assault, but does not specifically criminalize bullying.

This bill creates the crime of "bullying" as an unclassified misdemeanor.This penalty is the same as for the crime of menacing.