We like the idea behind Rep. Jennifer O’Mara’s bill that would require schools to notify parents if their child has been bullied at school.

Too many parents find out about incidents in school after the fact from their child, if they hear about them at all. That’s because, unless you’re reenacting your favorite episode of Colombo, getting children to talk substantively about their day is about as useful as talking to a brick wall. It’s not uncommon for parents to find out about bullying only after months of behavior that should have been stopped when they started.

The problem with House Bill 830, which passed the state House of Representatives last week and now heads to the state Senate for debate, is that it leaves too much to schools’ imagination to have the type of impact O’Mara thinks it will have. The bill text is roughly a paragraph long. It doesn’t define what behaviors actually constitute bullying, which in Pennsylvania is defined as an intentional electronic, written, verbal, or physical act, or series of acts, directed at another student in a school setting that is severe, persistent, or pervasive. It must substantially interfere with a student’s education, create a threatening environment, or disrupt the orderly operation of the school.

If that’s the definition that House Bill 830 is using to decide what determines behavior that triggers parental notification, then we’re not sure parents will find out much more than they do now from their children. At what stage would parental notification be required? Is one email that a parent may deem bullying enough to trigger notification from the school? We don’t know, because pervasive is a word that is open to interpretation among the thousands of school administrators in Pennsylvania. How much teasing is required before it substantially interferes with a student’s education? That’s hard to tell because some students deal with things better than others – so when would O’Mara’s bill be triggered?

We know most school administrators will say they recognize bullying when they see it. They don’t need necessarily need the state’s definitions to deal with bullying – but those school administrators won’t want to be sending notes home for every instance of bullying. At that point the notification becomes cumbersome for already overworked teachers.

Like we said, O’Mara’s bill comes from a good place. But it’s far too vague to have the type of impact those who voted for House Bill 830 last week think it will have, in our opinion. This bill needs additional work before it becomes law, despite its good intentions.