Bullying task force reviewing student data

The Governor's Task Force on the Prevention of School Bullying is holding its second meeting Monday.

The 15-member group has just months to investigate the scope of bullying and harassment in schools, and develop ways to stop bullying.

Walter Roberts, a professor of school counseling at Minnesota State University at Mankato, co-chairs the group. He said the task force will look at model policies in the state and around the country.

"This is an issue that's very complex," Roberts said. "It's more than just kid-on-kid mistreatment. This is an issue that speaks loudly about the way communities see themselves."

The task force's meeting Monday will look at the Minnesota Student Survey. Roberts said the survey could give clues as to what's going on.

"Students are telling us about what is going on inside their schools, about such issues as how safe they feel, about how successful or unsuccessful that they feel that schools are able to respond to the bullying and intimidation issues," he said.

The group's work could result in recommendations for the Legislature or policy changes for schools.