The bill defines bullying in Kentucky
and will impact all 1,233 public schools and some 670,000 students. The definition all Kentucky schools
will use is "bullying is any unwanted verbal, physical, or
social behavior among students that involves a real or perceived
power imbalance and is repeated or has the potential to be repeated."
The bill was sponsored by
Paducah Senator Danny Carroll. Six legislators, who served
on the Kentucky Youth Bully Prevention Task Force with the Guesses, will also join Sen. Carroll for the signing.
“This day is a great day for all Kentucky kids and their families,” said Morgan. “We now know someone does believe us, someone does hear us, and someone will help us. We are grateful to the legislature and to our Governor.”
Morgan and her mom Susan began a mission to change the culture of bullying in Kentucky after then 8 year old Morgan was bullied by a fellow student. They started the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation five years ago and have sponsored filmmakers, bullying and school shooting survivors, and suicide prevention speakers at area schools and have sponsored a variety of events to promote kindness and to bring awareness to the issue.
They lobbied Governor Steve Beshear for three years to appoint a statewide task force to study the issue. Beshear not only appointed a task force, but also appointed both Guesses to the 26 member panel. The duo chaired two of the three task force committees and they lobbied legislators throughout the session. Morgan testified three times and received unanimous votes of support from both the house and senate education committees. The full House passed the bill 94 to 1 and the Senate 30 to 6.
The two have been recognized nationally for their work and have been featured on KET, CNN, and they co-authored an opinion piece for the Huffington Post. Governor Beshear awarded them both with the state’s top volunteer awards. They were also awarded the Consumer Safety Award by the Kentucky Justice Association. Morgan was also featured in American Girl magazine and was named one of America’s Top 10 Youth Volunteers by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. She visited Harvard University twice and Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project named her their very first “Caring Champion.”
What’s next? The two are working with Four Rivers Behavioral Health to open a mental health drop in center for young people ages 15 to 25. They also will host the second Paducah Kindness Color Walk on August 6 as a way to start the school year with every student, teacher, parent, coach, minister, neighbor, and business leaders focused on kindness.
“There is so much more to do,” said Morgan. “The definition was just one of the recommendations of the task force. We identified bullying as a public health issue and we believe we need mental health services in our schools. We also encourage schools to adopt evidence based programs that impact their cultures in a positive way. This is a great day but it is just one day. We need everyone to be committed to a kinder Kentucky.”
