Anti-bullying bill named after teen who died by suicide signed into law in Indiana

An anti-bullying bill named after an Indiana middle schooler who died by suicide has been signed into law by the governor.

The law creates a statewide blueprint for schools to protect bullying victims. The bipartisan House Bill 1483 passed in the state House in February but had languished in the state Senate until Terry Badger III's death put a renewed spotlight on it, prompting nearly 100,000 people to sign a Change.org petition urging the Indiana General Assembly to take action.

Terry, 13, of Covington, Indiana, killed himself on March 6. In his final moments, he recorded a video on his cellphone in which he named bullies at school and said they were the reason he was taking his own life, his parents said.

The bill passed the state Senate 46-3 on April 27 and was signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday.

The law will require Indiana schools to notify the parents of a bullying victim within three business days that an incident has been reported and to notify the parents of an alleged bullying perpetrator within five business days.

It also requires schools to determine the severity of the bullying and whether the incident merits the transfer of the victim or perpetrator to a different school within the district for the victim’s safety.

In their first interview since the bill was signed, Terry's parents said they were certain their son was saving other kids' lives.

"I'm overwhelmed, I'm excited," said Terry's mom, Robyn Badger. "This was definitely every bit of him working through us."

"I always taught him, whatever he was going to do, have a purpose for what you're doing," added Terry's dad, Terry Badger II. "It's a hard purpose to swallow sometimes, but he's definitely made us proud for sure."

Last month, the bill’s author requested it be known as TB3’s Law, after Terry Badger III.

"I'm grateful to the leadership for allowing the bill to move through the process," Democratic state Rep. Vernon G. Smith said in an interview Friday. "It may not be the answer, but I think it's going to move us closer to the solution of this problem of dealing with bullying."

Terry's parents described him as a happy kid who enjoyed fishing with his family.

The seventh grader’s biggest passion was baseball, where he had a batting average of around .400 last season. He dreamed of playing in the major leagues, preferably for the St. Louis Cardinals.

But at school, Terry was not happy at all, his parents said. Kids bullied him over everything. When Terry got a haircut from the barbershop, he came home from school the next day and begged his dad to give him a new haircut, telling him kids were laughing at his appearance.

Another time, Terry threw the custom-color Nike Air Max sneakers that he had asked his grandparents and sister to get him as a present in his closet after schoolmates made fun of them.

In November, the Badgers had a meeting with Covington Middle School officials. They say administrators never stopped the teasing and bullying, which they learned after his death was even worse than they thought.

“We asked him every day if he was OK,” Robyn Badger said last month, adding that Terry would usually say school was fine. But “he was being called a fat ass and told to kill himself every day. We didn’t know any of that.”

Covington school district's superintendent Brady Scott told NBC News in an email last month that Covington Middle School took appropriate steps to protect Terry. He referred to a statement that said a third-party investigation by an Indiana law firm into the school’s anti-bullying policy, handbook and documents related to Terry “did determine the School was responsive to any concerns raised and followed protocols by working with students directly.”

Both the superintendent and Church Church Hittle + Antrim Law, the firm that conducted the third-party review, declined to share the findings with NBC News.

But Terry’s parents disagree that there was appropriate action taken.

“If I ever in a million years thought that this would have been the outcome, I would have completely taken him out of school,” Robyn Badger said.

While some other states also have anti-bullying laws, the Badgers hope the blueprint for Indiana's law will eventually be extended to the entire country.

For now, they say they are proud of what Terry has helped to do for the state of Indiana, and they believe he would be, too.

"I think he would just be kind of smiling, laughing, and tears coming out of his eyes right now," Terry Badger II said. "When he accomplished something, his favorite words was, 'I did it, Dad.'"

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com