Many states have adopted legislation to reduce bullying, harassment, intimidation, and cyber bullying in schools, but the extent to which such legislation translates into effective school-district policies is unknown. To address this knowledge gap, Program Design & Evaluation Services (PDES) and partners in the Oregon Public Health Division collaborated with Oregon Safe Schools and Community Coalition and the Oregon Department of Education to secure funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health Law Research Program at Temple University.
With this new grant, we will evaluate the public health impact of school anti-bullying legislation in Oregon, which was initially passed in 2001 and strengthened in 2007, 2009, and 2012.The objectives of this project are to:
- Assess the impact of the legislation on the adoption of school district-level anti-bullying policies.
- Determine if adoption of district-level policies is associated with changes in bullying, school attendance, and suicide ideation among youth in general, and among lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning youth (LGBQ) specifically.
- Explore whether student and school characteristics influence the relationship between policy adoption and changes in bullying.
Results from this study will be shared with policymakers and advocates in education, violence prevention, and public health.We anticipate results will increase school districts’ adoption of anti-bullying policies, inform possible improvements to district-level policies, and identify potential factors that could improve the effectiveness of the district policies on reducing bullying.
For more information on the study, contact Kari Greene at kari.greene@dhsoha.state.or.us or 971-673-0599.