Bullying, Harassment, and Cyberbullying in Schools Definitions, Issues, and Strategies September 2013 ©Vermont Human Rights Commission

Legal definition: Bullying is... Any overt act or combination of acts, including an act conducted by electronic means, directed against a student by another student or groups of students and which: (A) is repeated over time; (B) is intended to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate the student; and (C) (i) occurs during the school day on school property, on a school bus, or at a school- sponsored activity, or before or after the school day on a school bus or at a school- sponsored activity.

(new text) (C) (ii) does not occur during the school day on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity and can be shown to pose a clear and substantial interference with another student’s right to access educational programs.

Legal definition: Harassment is... An incident or incidents of verbal, written, visual, or physical conduct, including conducted by electronic means, based on or motivated by a student’s or a student’s family member’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity that has the purpose or effect of objectively and substantially undermining and detracting from or interfering with a student’s educational performance or access to school resources or creating an objectively intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

(new text about suspensions) 16 V.S.A. §1162) (a) A superintendent or principal may, pursuant to policies adopted by the school board that are consistent with state board rules, suspend a pupil for up to 10 school days or, with the approval of the board of the school district, expel a pupil for up to the remainder of the school year or up to 90 school days, whichever is longer, for misconduct: * * * * * (3) not on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity where the misconduct can be shown to pose a clear and substantial interference with another student’s equal access to educational programs.

Major (legal) differences between bullying and harassment Bullying law covers only student-to-student behaviors; harassment law also covers adult- to-student behaviors Bullying law does not include behaviors based on protected categories; harassment law only includes behaviors based on protected categories (such as disability) Bullying must be repeated over time; harassment can include one-time incidents (if sufficiently severe)

Major (legal) differences cont’d. Bullying must include intent to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate; harassment involves both intent and impact Harassment is based a student’s or a student’s family member’s actual or perceived membership in a protected category Cyberbullying and cyberharassment now covered by both laws (must have clear connection to, impact on activities at school or impact on individual student’s access to education)

Important points to pay attention to in the harassment and bullying policies Your child’s school must have at least two designated employees to received and respond to harassment and bullying complaints All school staff must report incidents of possible bullying or harassment to designated employees – this includes incidents reported to staff by students, parents, or other staff in the school

Some questions: Has your school district/supervisory union adopted a bullying prevention policy? (required as of January 1, 2013) Is your school’s harassment policy up to date? (adoption date of July 2011 or later) Do you understand the difference between bullying and harassment? Do you know who the designated employees are at your child’s school? Why is this so important to understand?

Remember... It is not staff responsibility to make a determination as to whether a violation of the bullying or harassment policy has occurred – that is the responsibility of the person who investigates a complaint (one of the designated employees); however, it is staff responsibility to report incidents of possible or alleged harassment and bullying

General trends 3 types of bullying/harassment: verbal (both boys and girls, 70%), physical (mostly boys, less than 33%), and relational (mostly girls, difficult to quantify) Most prevalent in middle school years 23% of students bullied vs. 71% of teachers reported that teachers intervened often or almost always Statistics from the 2011 AAUW report, 2009 GLSEN report, The Bully Report Vermont data: as of now data is limited and/or inaccurate

When is a safety plan appropriate? Even if an investigation is not complete and/or harassment has not been substantiated, schools should consider setting up a safety plan if a target says he/she does not feel safe around the alleged perpetrator If any kind of physical or sexual assault has occurred, a safety plan should be set up immediately If appropriate, the school should notify the police and/or DCF

Using informal resolution or alternative dispute resolution methods depends on… The nature of the incident(s) The age of the students involved Agreement from the complainant Other factors such as: nature of relationship between parties, history of the alleged perpetrator, whether either party has a disability that impacts behavior, whether there is a significant power imbalance between the parties, etc.

Information for parents: Read the school’s policies on bullying, harassment, and misconduct Talk with your child about what is happening Keep good notes about what your child is experiencing at school and copies of correspondence with school staff about your child’s experiences If your child is a target, keep in mind that IEPs are limited in what they can do to protect your child from bullying or harassment because IEPs cannot address the behaviors of the perpetrators

Information cont’d. Talk with your child’s teacher, special education case manager, and instructional assistants about what is happening and what they are doing to help – they are required to report any complaints of bullying or harassment to a designated employee (you can also report directly to a designated employee) Request/promote peer advocacy (e.g., Pacer’s Peer Advocacy Program) Call the HRC or OCR if the school is not responding to your complaints

Contact information: Vermont Human Rights Commission Office of Civil Rights, US DOE