Chiefland, Florida 31 January 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter bullied ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++ PARTIALLY COVERED++

2. Various of Norman looking at photo book, daughter Rebecca in pictures

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter bullied ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++ PARTIALLY COVERED++

Tallahassee, Florida 1 February 2018

4. Various of Florida legislature in session

Sunrise, Florida 8 February 2018

5. School children from behind wearing backpacks

6. School exterior

Tallahassee, Florida 1 February 2018

7. Various of Florida state Representative Byron Donalds flipping through House Bill 1

8.SOUNDBITE (English) State Representative Byron Donalds/ (R) Florida++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Joshua Replogle/ The Associated Press ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++

Greenacres, Florida 8 February 2018

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Lowell Levine/ Stop Bullying Now Foundation ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++

11. Cutaway

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Lowell Levine/ Stop Bullying Now Foundation ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++PARTIALLY COVERED++

Tallahassee, Florida 1 February 2018

13. Various of Florida legislature in session

Sunrise, Florida 8 February 2018

14. School children from behind wearing backpacks

Tallahassee, Florida 1 February 2018

15. Various of Florida state Representative Byron Donalds flipping through House Bill 1

16. SOUNDBITE (English) State Representative Byron Donalds/ (R) Florida++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++PARTIALLY COVERED++

Chiefland, Florida 31 January 2018

17. Patricia Norman crying looking at picture of her daughter

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter bullied ++TRANSCRIBED BELOW++

Tallahassee, Florida 1 February 2018

19. Various of Florida legislature in session

SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter victim of bullying:

" I miss her, it shouldn't be like this. At this point I should have 4 and a half years more memories, but we stopped at 12 years and it's not enough." ++CRYING++LOOKING AT PHOTO++

ALL SHE HAS ARE PICTURES AND MEMORIES.

PATRICIA NORMAN IS STILL IN TEARS MORE THAN 4 YEARS AFTER HER DAUGHTER REBECCA COMMITTED SUICIDE, A SUICIDE PATRICIA BLAMES ON SCHOOL BULLYING

SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter victim of bullying:

"You try to rack your brain and figure out 'what could I have done different?'"

THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE IS NOW CONSIDERING A FIRST OF ITS KIND BILL THAT SOME LAWMAKERS SAY COULD HELP.  HOUSE BILL ONE WOULD HELP PAY FOR STUDENTS WHO SAY THEY'VE BEEN BULLIED TO ATTEND PRIVATE SCHOOL.  OPPONENTS SAY IT'S JUST A CLEVER, UNREGULATED WAY TO SIPHON OFF MORE PUBLIC MONEY FROM ALREADY EMBATTLED PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

THE SPONSOR OF THE BILL, STATE REPRESENTATIVE BYRON DONALDS IT WOULD GIVE FAMILIES MUCH NEEDED OPTIONS.

SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Byron Donalds/ (R) Florida:

"What HB one does is actually focus on the victim."

SOUNDBITE (English) Joshua Replogle/ The Associated Press:

"However, critics of the bill say this is not a solution to the bullying problem."

SOUNDBITE (English) Lowell Levine/ Anti-Bully advocate:

"The bully will pick on somebody else.  This bill is not fair, and it's not going to work."

LOWELL LEVINE FIGHTS FOR THE RIGHTS OF BULLY VICTIMS

HE SAYS THE BILL DOESN'T TRULY ADDRESS BULLYING.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lowell Levine/ Anti-Bully advocate:

"It will strengthen private schools because they will be getting the voucher dollars. It sounds to me, political. "

THE STATE'S REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE NATION'S LARGEST SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAMS.  NEARLY ONE BILLION TAX PAYER DOLLARS GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

DONALDS SAYS IF THE LAW PASSES, IT WILL SIMPLY GIVE BULLIED STUDENTS AN ALTERNATIVE

SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Byron Donalds/ (R) Florida:

"All we're doing is empowering parents with all the information so if they feel it is in the interest of their child for them to go ahead and make that decision."

IT'S A DECISION PATRICIA NORMAN WISHES SHE COULD HAVE CONSIDERED WHEN HER DAUGHTER WAS BEING BULLIED

NOW, SHE CAN ONLY ASK *WHAT IF

SOUNDBITE (English) Patricia Norman/ Daughter victim of bullying:

"I have a million scenarios that go through my head.  You know, what if we never moved to that neighborhood where she had to go to that school.  Or, what if I had just put her in a different school at the beginning of the year, what if she could go to private school? There's a lot of what ifs."

HOUSE BILL ONE IS EXPECTED TO PASS BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS IN MARCH

JOSH REPLOGLE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, TALLAHASSEE