Policy / Law

Carson's Law: Oregon School Bullying-Notification Requirement (HB 2631)

Jan 2021 🇺🇸 Oregon State Legislature

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Oregon House Bill 2631, enacted in the 2021 legislative session as Chapter 232 and commonly nicknamed 'Carson's Law,' requires Oregon school officials who receive a report of harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying to notify the parents or guardians of both the targeted student and the student identified as the aggressor, with narrow exceptions where notification could put a student at risk. The measure is named for Carson Bride, the 16-year-old son of advocate Kristin Bride, who died by suicide in June 2020 following a pattern of anonymous cyberbullying at his Portland-area high school. In later written testimony, Bride states in her own words that she personally testified in support of the bill in 2021. TechKids Foundation includes this entry as a documented instance of bereaved-parent advocacy translating into state policy, described here as a parent-notification requirement rather than as a claim about the cause of Carson's death.

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CITATION

Oregon Legislative Assembly. House Bill 2631, 81st Legislative Assembly, 2021 Regular Session, codified as Oregon Laws 2021, chapter 232 ('Carson's Law').

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