Baja California’s state congress education committee unanimously approved two reforms on June 9 targeting weapons on school campuses and cyberbullying. The measures amend the State School Security Law and the Law to Prevent and Eradicate School Harassment, and both advanced without a single opposition vote.
The reforms address two distinct issues. One targets the possession of weapons on school grounds, strengthening existing prohibitions under state law. The other explicitly defines cyberbullying, conducted through social media, messaging apps, or other online platforms, as a punishable offense under Baja California’s anti-harassment framework.
Cyberbullying Gets a Legal Definition
Until now, Baja California’s school harassment law lacked specific language covering digital harassment. The approved amendment closes that gap by naming social media platforms, messaging applications, and other digital tools as venues where school bullying can occur. Under the new language, online harassment will carry the same legal weight as in-person bullying on campus.
The reform builds on a broader legislative push championed by Deputy Araceli Geraldo Núñez. Earlier this year, the state assembly passed a related measure overhauling the anti-bullying law by introducing a Comprehensive Care Model. That reform created standardized methods for identifying bullying, clear referral pathways to psychological, social, medical, and legal services, and a unified case-tracking tool called a “cédula de registro único” to prevent cases from falling through bureaucratic cracks.
Weapons Ban Strengthened
The second reform tightens rules on weapons possession at schools across the state. While Mexican federal law already prohibits firearms in educational settings, the state-level amendment gives local authorities and school administrators a clearer legal basis for enforcement and intervention.
Both measures still require a full vote by the Baja California State Congress before becoming law. The committee’s unanimous approval, with no abstentions or dissenting votes, points toward likely passage in the full chamber.
Baja California’s public school system serves hundreds of thousands of students in Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada, Rosarito, and Tecate. Families enrolled in private bilingual schools, popular among expat communities in the Tijuana-Rosarito corridor and the Ensenada wine country, would also fall under the updated regulations once enacted.
The reforms were first reported by La Jornada Baja California.