The Department released a technical assistance memo for state and local officials to combat bullying inside and outside of schools. The memo outlines critical components of strong state bullying laws and policies and is intended to serve as a useful reference for state and local officials developing or revising anti-bullying legislation or policies. The Department compiled key components of existing anti-bullying laws from 29 states and divided the laws into 11 categories, ranging from a listing of examples of bullying behavior to specific procedures for investigating incidents. The Department provides a comprehensive summary of state anti-bullying laws and is currently conducting a study of how those laws are being implemented. More information about the guidance can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/secletter/101215.html. More information about the Department’s anti-bullying efforts can be found at http://www.bullyinginfo.org/.

In addition, the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Task Force is accepting submissions from the public of field-based practices to combat bullying. Entries that are approved for posting online may be in any number of formats, from research articles to youth-produced Public Service Announcements. All materials and resources posted online are required to be free of charge and hosted on a government or nonprofit web site. More information can be found at http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/resourcesubmission.aspx.