Anti-bullying advocates kick off push for new legislation

A coalition of groups hoping to pass a stronger anti-bullying law in Minnesota will hold rallies in St. Paul and Duluth on Monday.

The rallies, sponsored by gay and lesbian advocacy group OutFront Minnesota and the state's teachers union Education Minnesota, will focus on raising support for a new bill that would require schools to track cases of bullying and train staff on how to prevent bullying.

"This is a priority for us," said union president Denise Specht. "We're going to do everything to make sure this happens."

Last session the effort to pass a similar bill failed to pass the legislature. Some lawmakers opposed to the bill, which never actually came up for a vote, said it was overreaching and expensive.

This time, "We really want to make sure that we're having the conversations locally about how this legislation can be a tool that will really help our communities provide safe schools," said OutFront executive director Monica Meyer.

Minnesota's current bullying law is only 37 words long and is considered one of the weakest in the nation.