Arne Duncan: Bullying in Schools Is a 'Gateway to Hate'

The Department of Education hosted its first conference on bullying Wednesday, adding the issue to a steadily growing list of education priorities for the Obama administration.

Speaking the day after President Obama approved billions of dollars to fund teachers in cash-strapped states, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said bullying is a school safety issue that must be resolved.

"Bullying is doubly dangerous because it can have unintended consequences and be escalated to even more serious violence and abuse," he said. "Just as you have gateway drugs, bullying, I think, is a gateway to a hate."

The conference -- an interagency effort by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, Defense, Interior and Agriculture -- is the first of its kind, bringing together government and non-government players in the education field to discuss how to address bullying.

Duncan acknowledged that some may wonder why the agencies hadn't come together on this issue before, and then admitted, "We simply have not taken the problem of bullying seriously enough."

But bullying is not a new issue for the federal government, said Jason Smith, project director of HHS' Stop Bullying Now! campaign. He said the department first announced a public awareness campaign against bullying in 2001 to counter the myth that it's "a rite of passage." Research shows children who are bullied have a higher incidence of unhealthy behaviors, including smoking and underage drinking, as well as truancy.

"This is 10 years in the making that the government has understood that bullying is a public health issue and that it affects students' ability to learn," Smith said. He attributed the current spotlight on the issue in part to media coverage of tragedies associated with bullying, such as the suicide of an 11-year-old in Massachusetts last year. The boy hanged himself after being suffering taunts of being gay.

In his speech, Duncan said bullying is a behavior that children learn, emphasizing the need for preventative measures: "A school where children don't feel safe is a school where children struggle to learn."

He pointed to a 2007 study that found one in three students reported being bullied, revealing how widespread the problem is. Duncan said he doesn't accept the myths about the innocent nature of bullying, noting, "I have very little patience for the argument that 'kids will be kids.' "

The conference continues Thursday.