A Texas Senate committee has passed a bill that would allow Texas schools to prohibit bullying, both in person and online.
Houston state Senator John Whitmire's bill requires schools to develop a policy to prohibit, prevent and punish students who bully others.
The bill passed on a 30-1 vote.
The proposed law defines bullying as any effort to harass or intimidate a student in person or using the Internet.
It expands the definition of bullying to specifically address electronic methods such as texting and posting to Facebook, according to the website schoolbullyingcouncil.com.
The bill follows recent high-profile cases where public school children committed suicide after they were bullied by other students.
One such case happened at Houston’s Blackshear Elementary School last year. Bullies were blamed after and 8-year-old allegedly jumped from a 2 ½-story campus balcony, according to the Houston Chronicle.
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Schools would also have to explain to students what is considered bullying and possible punishments, if the bill becomes law.
The Senate bill will now go to the House for consideration.
More: stopbullying.gov
