Bullying

Increased Legal Requirements TN Code Public Acts of 2012 Teachers must be trained. Bullying prevention strategies must be made available to students and parents. The principal must submit an annual report to the Tennessee Dept. of Education concerning the number of bulling cases and the manner of resolution. Investigate harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyber- bullying when reported that there is physical harm or a threat of harm to a student or their property. Findings must be reported to the director of schools and the board chair.

Bedford Board Policy Provide a learning environment free from sexual, racial, ethnic, disability, and religious harassment. Including buses & bus stops, at school, school activities, off-campus if the conduct has the effect of creating a hostile educational environment, creates a disruption to the learning process, has a detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental heath.

Legal Definitions Discrimination/Harassment – conduct, advances, gestures, or words of a sexual, racial, ethnic, disability, or religious nature (potential Federal Civil Rights violations). Bullying/Intimidation – physical harm or fear of physical harm to the student or their property. Cyber Bullying – utilizes technology such as phones, s, social networking, videos, websites, fake profiles, etc.

3 Types of Bullying Physical – Harm to another’s person or property. Emotional – Harm to another’s self-concept. Relational – Harm to another through damage, or threat of damage, to relationships, feelings of acceptance, friendship, or group inclusion.

Physical Harm or threat to another’s person or property Threatening gestures Cornering or blocking movement Pushing, shoving Biting, pinching, scratching Hair pulling Spitting Slapping, hitting, punching Kicking, tripping Destroying or defacing property Extortion Theft Assault with a weapon, sexual assault, arson, rape, homicide

Emotional Harm to person’s self-concept Insulting gestures, dirty looks. Insulting remarks, name calling, taunting. Racial, ethnic, or religious slurs. Insulting remarks related to disability, gender, sexual orientation, race. Defacing or falsifying schoolwork. Insulting/degrading graffiti. Harassing calls and messages. Unwanted sexually suggestive remarks, images, or gestures Challenging in public. Threatening another to secure silence.

Relational Harm to another through damage to relationships, feelings of acceptance, friendship, or group inclusion Negative body language or facial expressions. Gossiping, starting/spreading rumors. Playing mean tricks. Insulting publicly. Ruining a reputation. Ignoring someone to punish or coerce. Threatening to end a relationship. Undermining other relationships. Passively not including in group. Exclusion, ostracizing, group rejection. Arranging public humiliation.

When School is Responsible When incidents are known or reasonably should have been known such as occurrences in hallways, classes, extracurricular activities, graffiti in public areas, etc. Investigation discovers events that may constitute a hostile environment.

Who Must Act? Every adult in the school must intervene and act when we see bullying. Principals Teachers Assistants Office Workers Custodians Cafeteria Workers

Our Role When Bullying is Directly Observed Stop the bullying. Support the student who has been bullied. Name the bullying behavior to the bully. Empower the bystanders with appreciation who were supportive of the victim. Escort the bully to the office/inform an administrator.

Pre-Investigation Concerns Be sensitive to the complainant. Observe due process rights. Don’t become an advocate for any party. Be sensitive to gender, culture, language, and disability. Keep your opinions private. Balance your concerns for the complainant with the rights of perpetrator.

Complaints & Investigations Alleged victims shall report offenses to a teacher, counselor, or administrator. Privacy and anonymity of all parties and witnesses should be respected. No retaliation against any person who reports harassment or participates in an investigation.

Get Complaints in Writing Name(s) of persons involved? When/where did the incident(s) take place? What happened/is happening? Witnesses? Evidence? How were you affected? Expected resolution?

Bodies of Law School administrative rules under codes of conduct. Local police, state/federal investigators: Criminal violations State civil law relating to anti-bullying or negligence statues. Federal Civil Rights violations if protected classification is involved.

We must all work together to keep Community High School safe for all our students.