 Mesquite ISD Bullying Prevention EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY Kindness and Respect for ALL

EVERYONE HAS A ROLE IN STOPPING BULLYING  Administrators  Counselors  Teachers  Staff Members  Support Personnel  Parents

Facts About Bullying  Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, repeated (or severe), and involves an imbalance of power  Bullying can seriously affect the emotional, physical, and academic well-being of students who are bullied  Dealing with problems related to bullying can take a good deal of educators’ time during the school day  Bullying contributes to a negative school climate  Bullying is more prevalent than many adults suspect

 Studies show between 15-25% of US students are bullied while 15-20% report that THEY bully with frequency  School violence has declined 4% yet incidences of behaviors associated with bullying have risen 5%  Children with special needs are at a higher risk of being bullied  Boys are more likely to physically bully than girls  Boys are bullied by other boys while girls report being bullied by boys and girls

 Verbal bullying is the most frequent form of bullying  Girls are more likely to report being targets of rumor spreading and sexual comments  Girls are more likely to bully each other using social exclusion  Stresses of being bullied can interfere with student’s engagement and learning in school  Bullying also has impact on bystanders  Bullying creates a climate of fear and disrespect and has a negative impact

Perceptions  In one study, 70% of teachers believe that teachers intervene “almost always” in bullying situations  Only 25% of students agreed with this assessment  Students often feel that adult intervention is infrequent and unhelpful and they often fear that telling adults will only bring more harassment from bullies

Bullying takes many forms  Nonverbal or Emotional Examples: intimidation using gestures, social exclusion, facial expressions with malicious intent, spreading rumors  Cyber bullying Examples: posting or sending insulting, harassing, or threatening messages through electronic means  Physical Examples: hitting, punching, pushing, damaging one’s property, hazing  Verbal Examples: teasing, name calling, threatening remarks, taunting, embarrassing others

Bullying / Harassment / Hazing Student Handbook and Code of Conduct Texas law prohibits students from engaging in, encouraging, aiding or assisting in bullying, harassment, or hazing. A student found to have engaged in, encouraged, aided, assisted in, or had knowledge of and failed to report a bullying, harassment or hazing incident will be subject to discipline. Retaliation against any person reporting an incident of bullying or harassment is prohibited.

What is Bullying? Definition  Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic methods, or physical conduct against another student on school property, at a school-sponsored or a school-related activity, or in a district-operated vehicle, and the behavior:  Results in harm to the student or the student’s property  Places a student in reasonable fear of physical harm or of damage to the student’s property, or  Is so severe, persistent, and pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment..  This conduct is considered bullying if it exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator(s) and the student victim and if it interferes with a student’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of the school.  Bullying is prohibited by the district and could include hazing, threats, taunting, teasing, confinement, assault, demands for money, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, name-calling, rumor spreading, or ostracism.

IS IT BULLYING? The answer to ALL 4 questions must be yes to determine whether written, verbal, electronic, or physical conduct is considered bullying. Bullying 1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. Yes Did the conduct occur on school property, at a school-related event, or in a district- operated vehicle? Does the conduct exploit an imbalance of power? Does the conduct interfere with student’s education or disrupt school operations? Does the conduct have the effect of physical harm to student, damage to student’s property, or place student in fear of harm to person or property? Is conduct sufficiently severe, persistent and pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive environment OR

Disabled Students and Bullying A student enrolled in a special education program may not be disciplined for conduct defined as bullying or harassment until an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee has been held to review the conduct. An ARD or 504 Committee meeting must be held for an identified disabled student to determine if bullying is a direct result of a disability and if bullying has impacted FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education). The committee should determine if the student’s program is appropriate.

Definition of Harassment Conduct that threatens to cause harm or bodily injury to another student, is sexually intimidating, causes physical damage to the property of another student, subjects another student to physical confinement or restraint, or maliciously and substantially harms another student’s physical or emotional health or safety.

Definition of Hazing Hazing means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution directed against a student, by one person alone or acting with others, that endangers the mental or physical health or the safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization whose members are or include other students.

The Bully  Students that frequently bully others may also:  have other anti-social or violent behavior such as  frequent fighting  vandalism or stealing  anger issues  alcohol/tobacco/drug use  have witnessed family physical or emotional abuse  want to fit into a peer group through bullying so as not to be bullied  have been bullied themselves

Warning Signs for Parents and Educators A student that is being bullied may exhibit the following:  Loses interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school  Appears sad, moody, teary, depressed or shows other changes in behavior at school or home  Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or other physical ailments  Experiences a change in attendance or seems afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the bus, going to the school bathrooms, or taking part in organized activities with peers

 Seems tired, has trouble sleeping or frequent bad dreams  Experiences a loss of appetite  Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem  Has torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings  Has unexplained cuts, bruises, or scratches  Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she spends time  Takes a long, “illogical” route when walking to or from school

 All staff members must take immediate action when bullying is observed  Receive and listen receptively to students and parents that report bullying  Report incidents AND reports of bullying to administrators  Encourage reporting and provide anonymity if needed or requested  Work with administrators so reports are investigated and resolved quickly and effectively at the school level to avoid perpetuating bullying  Recognize the repeated and recurring nature of bullying and have mechanisms in place to identify patterns of repeated offenses What should you do as an MISD employee?

 Work with administrators to notify parents of all involved students when a bullying incident occurs and seek to resolve the problem expeditiously at school  Provide ongoing guidance that supports appropriate student expectations for behavior including the role of the bystander  Integrate bullying prevention themes throughout the curriculum  Provide anti-bullying / bullying prevention activities at each level  Provide parent education  Provide follow up support to victims  Participate in the development of action plans for students that have been bullied  Provide outside resources to parents if warranted for students who are bullied and with students who bully Students need to know that mistreatment of others will not be allowed

Set Campus and Classroom Rules and Expectations such as:  We will not bully others  We will try to help students who are bullied  We will make it a point to include students who are easily left out  If we know someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home Develop strategies to reward students for positive, inclusive behavior Make it uncool to bully Make it cool to help out students who are bullied The campus norm is for staff and students to notice when a child is bullied or left out

BYSTANDERS contribute to the problem! Set EXPECTATIONS FOR BYSTANDERS such as:  Don’t watch – Walk away  Don’t react with laughter, giggles, or snickers  Be a friend to the victim  Reporting incidents is safe and the right thing to do

 Protect Yourself  Investigate  Report to administration observed incidents, concerns, and parent and/or student reports  Document - Have a paper trail of action  You can be held responsible if you know, or “should have known”, about bullying incidents and did not report and investigate Protect the Students AND …

All employees have a responsibility to maintain a Climate of Kindness and Respect For ALL