“Charlie’s Law”

Landon failed our Charlie, and us, in fundamental ways. But two stand out

We truly believe Charlie would be with us today if Landon had had an anti-bullying policy.  A “civility code” or “code of conduct” are not enough.  In this era of rampant bullying and cyberbullying, schools need more.  They need mandatory reporting of bullying.  They need a policy that requires, among other things, that parents be notified within a time certain that their child is being bullied and that has effective procedures for promptly addressing bullying incidents.  

Maryland has such a law – MD Code, Education, § 7-424 – a law that requires all public schools and non-public schools that receive State education funding adopt an anti-bulling policy, with a model policy provided.  In fact, Maryland has one of the most cited, most robust, most comprehensive anti-bullying laws in the country.  But here’s the problem.   While the anti-bullying law provides a standard of care that a school like Landon must follow, it does not explicitly provide in the language of the statute that private schools have to adopt an anti-bullying policy.  That needs to change, hence the first goal of Charlie’s Law.

We also truly believe that Charlie would be with us today if Landon had had an effective suicide prevention, intervention and postvention program, administered by a certified counselor.  Not only is bullying rampant among teens, so are mental health issues and suicide.  In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death for male teens, and the already alarming statistics appear to be rising.  So schools like Landon need – no question -- to have such a program in place. 

Maryland has enacted “Lauryn’s Law,” MD Code Education §6-704.1, which requires, among other things, that certified personnel who have direct contact with students get training on how to identify suicide risk factors, how to recognize that a student is experiencing trauma or violence out of school, what professional resources can help students in crisis.   But again, here’s the problem.  Lauryn’s Law applies on its face to public schools and non-public schools that receive State education funding.  So the standard of care for schools like Landon is there from Lauryn’s law, but that statute needs to be explicit on its face that it applies to private schools.  Hence, the second goal of Charlie’s Law.