"As school begins, parents and children have a lot on their minds. New books and school supplies, new teachers and new challenges all combine to be exciting if not nerve racking. But the prospect of bullying should not be on any parent or student's mind.

"As a parent, knowing your child has been the victim of bullying can be heartbreaking, so too can learning that your child is a bully. These days, bullying can have dire consequences. Often, acts of bullying can extend beyond the halls of our school buildings and can find a new home on the Internet. The emotional and physical impacts of bullying have become more severe than ever and parents need to be proactive in dealing with this serious problem.

"An estimated 3.2 million students are bullied each year, often resulting in psychological troubles, physical complaints, and absence from school. Sadly, overweight and obese children are also far more likely to be the victims of bullying. I was pleased to introduce H.Res. 762, a resolution supporting the goals of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, which recognizes Oct. 21-27 as National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, and commends the many programs and organizations that do great work in preventing the cycle of bullying.

"I also authored a provision in the Higher Education Opportunity Act to address the problems facing children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. It is estimated that 15 percent of the population, or 7 million students, learn to read differently than their peers. Reading out loud in class can be devastatingly embarrassing for children with learning disabilities, giving fodder to bullies. These students could potentially benefit from reading instruction that is tailored to specifically meet their needs. My bill will help teachers better address the needs of children with dyslexia and help students find ways to manage their learning disability.

"Finally, I introduced H.R. 354, the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act, which aims to improve school safety calls with better and more consistent reporting of violence in schools, additional funds, and more accountability.

"Children can not learn in an unsafe environment, which is why I have supported language that would add bullying to several areas of educational policy such as including it in the definition of Persistently Dangerous Schools, in order to strengthen school efforts to combat bullying.

"I will continue to fight to raise awareness among my colleagues in Congress about the damaging effects bullying on our nation's children."

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy announced that Nassau Community College has been selected to receive $470,703 for Emergency Management Planning under the U.S. Department of Education Emergency Management for Higher Education Program. The funding will allow the college the opportunity to evaluate, assess and improve campus safety and emergency management planning efforts.

McCarthy, who wrote a letter in support of the college's efforts, said, "This funding will help make Nassau Community College a safer and more efficient learning community and improve what is already one of Long Island's largest and most important higher education institutions."

The funding will be implemented in four phases and will be used for reviewing and enhancing existing emergency management plans, staff training, ensuring campuswide emergency communications and developing a comprehensive, written emergency management plan.

"We need to do all we can to make sure that Nassau Community College's campus is safe and has emergency planning measures in place that will make the campus community as prepared as possible in the event of an incident," said McCarthy.

"We want to make sure that the College is prepared so that if an emergency situation arises, we have aleady set in place procedures that will enable us to notify and protect our students, faculty, staff and visitors. This grant will provide us with significant resources to enhance our efforts in that direction," said Dr. Sean Fanelli, president of NCC.

The funding comes on the heels of the reauthorization of the Higher

Education Opportunity Act, which featured another important campus safety provision authored by Rep. McCarthy known as the Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification or "VTV" Act. The law requires campuses to report incidents and emergencies to the campus community immediately upon confirmation of an emergency.