Asher Brown took his own life on Sept. 23, 2010 after bullies at school tormented him. He was 13 years old.
Asher Brown took his own life on Sept. 23, 2010 after bullies at school tormented him. He was 13 years old. Courtesy of Equality Texas

After a spate of bullying related suicides in Texas schools, state lawmakers introduced more than 15 bills this session to address the issue. Today, the Senate approved one of them — SB 205 from Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. 

The bill passed on second reading with no debate, with only one nay vote — from Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.

Whitmire said the measure would bring incidents of harassment “out of the shadows.” In addition to adding a definition of cyber-bulllying to the statute, SB 205 requires districts to develop specific policies to prevent and investigate aggressive behavior from students. It also includes a provision that holds school district officials accountable for failing to address reports of bullying.

Thirty-seven other states have already passed specific legislation to counter cyber-bullying in schools.

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Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality. In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of...

Becca Aaronson was the first product manager at the Tribune, where she worked from 2010 to 2018. As product manager, Becca managed the Tribune's website redesign, coordinates cross-departmental projects...