ACR 256 Summary

• Declares July 27, 2018, as California Bullying Prevention Day, also known as Rosie's Day, in honor of Rosalie Avila, a teenager from Yucaipa who died by suicide in December 2017 after experiencing multiple forms of bullying.

• Acknowledges that bullying affects more than one in five students nationally, with 33 percent of bullied students experiencing bullying at least once or twice monthly during the school year.

• Notes that cyberbullying affects 15.5 percent of high school students and nearly 25 percent of middle school students, with only 23 percent of cyberbullied students reporting incidents to school adults.

• Recognizes that bullying victims experience increased rates of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, school absenteeism, poor academic performance, and suicidal ideation.

• Calls on individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and the state to take action on bullying prevention in California.