ANTI-BULLYING COMMITTEE
MEETING # 2
OUR PLAN FOR TODAY
• REVIEW THE BOARD POLICY TO BE PRESENTED
TO THE BOARD FOR REVIEW AND/OR
APPROVAL
• DETERMINE SCHOOL PROCESS FOR HANDLING
COMPLAINTS
WHAT WE DISCOVERED SINCE
MEETING #1
• THE STATE OF TN HAS DEVELOPED A WEBSITE
OF RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL SYSTEMS
• http://www.tn.gov/education/safe_schls/safet
y_cntr/bullying.shtml
1ST GOAL FOR THIS MEETING
• REVIEW THE BOARD POLICY TO BE PRESENTED TO
THE SCHOOL BOARD, MAKE CHANGES, SUBMIT TO
BOARD FOR REVIEW AND/OR APPROVAL
POLICY
• ONE OF THE RESOURCES IS A SAMPLE
ANTI-BULLYING & HARRASSMENT
POLICY. (see handout) It has been
revised for Bledsoe County. Read,
review, and adjust, if needed.
Bledsoe County Schools’
Bullying and Harassment Policy
General Statements and Definitions
The Bledsoe County Board of Education has determined that a safe, civil, and supportive
environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards.
In order to maintain that environment, the Bledsoe County Board of Education prohibits acts of
harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying, intimidation, or any other victimization of students, based
on any actual or perceived traits or characteristics. To that end, the Bledsoe County Board of
Education has in place policies and procedures to address incidents of bullying and harassment.
This policy will be disseminated annually to all school staff, students, and parents and may be
publicized in student handbooks and LEA/school web sites. This policy is in effect while students
are on school property, at any school-sponsored activity, on school-provided equipment or
transportation, or at any official school bus stop. If the act takes place off school property or
outside of a school-sponsored activity, this policy is in effect if the conduct is directed
specifically at a student or students and has the effect of creating a hostile educational
environment or otherwise creating a substantial disruption to the education environment or
learning process.
When looking at the totality of the circumstances, harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying, or any
other disruptive or violent behavior includes conduct such as gestures, written, verbal, graphic,
or written acts, including electronically transmitted acts, toward a student which are based on
any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of the student and creates an educational
environment that meets one or more of the following conditions:
•
•
•
•
Places the student in reasonable fear or harm for the student’s person or property;
Has a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health;
Has the effect of substantially interfering with the student’s academic performance; or
Has the effect of substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or
benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
“Bullying” is conduct that meets one or more of the following criteria:
•
•
•
Is an act directed at one or more students that is intended to harm or embarrass;
Is repeated over time; and
Involves an imbalance of physical, emotional or social power.
“Bullying” can be conducted verbally and in writing (teasing, name-calling, taunting, threatening
to cause harm) socially/relationally (hurting someone’s reputation or relationship), or physically
(hurting someone or their possessions).
“Cyber-bullying” is bullying undertaken through the use of electronic devices. Electronic devices
include, but are not limited to, telephones, cellular phone or other wireless telecommunication
devices, text messaging, emails, social networking sites, instant messaging, videos, web sites or
fake profiles.
• “Harassment” is conduct that meets the following criteria:
• Unwelcome conduct based on a protected class (race, national, origin, color, gender, age,
disability, religion) that is severe, pervasive, or persistent and creates a hostile environment.
• “Sexual Harassment” includes unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which can include
unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or
physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Other acts of violent behavior may include:
“Hazing” which involves any intentional or reckless act, on or off LEA property, by one
student acting alone or with others that is directed against any other student, that
endanger the mental or physical health or safety of that student or that induces or
coerces a student to endanger that student’s mental or physical health or safety.
“Hazing” does not include customary athletic events or similar contests or
competitions and is limited to those actions taken and situations created in connection
with initiation into or affiliation with any organization.
Reporting and Investigations
The Bledsoe County Board of Education requires the principal and/or principal’s
designee, at each school to be responsible for investigating and resolving complaints
alleging violations of this policy. The principal and/or principal’s designee is
responsible for determining whether an alleged act constitutes a violation of this
policy. In doing so, the principal and/or principal’s designee, shall conduct a prompt,
thorough, and complete investigation of each alleged incident. Within the parameters
of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, a
written report on the investigation will be delivered to the parents of the complainant
and accused students and to the Director of Schools.
All school employees are required to report alleged violations of this policy to the
principal and/or principal’s designee. All other members of the school community,
including students, parents, volunteers, and visitors, are encouraged to report any act
that may be a violation of this policy. Reports may be made anonymously; however,
such complaints may affect the school’s ability to issue formal disciplinary action.
LEA Prevention and Intervention Response
Consequences and appropriate remedial actions for anyone who commits one or more
acts of harassment, bullying, or other acts of violent behavior may range from positive
behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion, as set forth in
the Board of Education’s approved code of conduct.
School administrators shall consider the nature and circumstances of the incident, the
age and maturity of the student, the degree of harm, previous incidences or patterns
of behavior, or any other factors, as appropriate to properly respond to each situation.
Consequences for a student who commits an act of harassment, bullying, or other act
of violent behavior shall be unique to the individual incident and will vary in method
and severity according to the nature of the behavior, the developmental age of the
student, and the student’s history of problem behaviors and performance, and must
be consistent with the Board of Education’s approved code of student conduct.
Remedial measures shall be designed to:
• Correct the problem behavior;
• Prevent other occurrences of the behavior; and
• Protect the victim of the act.
Effective discipline should employ a school-wide approach to adopt a procedure of
handling harassment or bullying offenses and the associated consequences. This
procedure should reflect appropriate potential consequences in accordance with
discipline policies. The Director of Schools shall be responsible for the development
and enforcement of this requirement.
Reprisal, Retaliation, and False Accusations
The Bledsoe County Board of Education prohibits reprisal or
retaliation against any person who reports or assists in any
investigation of an act alleged in this policy. The consequences
of appropriate remedial action for a person who engages in
reprisal or retaliation shall be determined by the administrator
after consideration of the nature, severity, and circumstances of
the act.
The Bledsoe County Board of Education prohibits any person
from falsely accusing another of having committed an act of
harassment or bullying as means of reprisal or retaliation or of
harassment or bullying. The consequences and appropriate
remedial action for a person found to have falsely accused
another as a means of reprisal or retaliation or harassment or
bullying may range from positive behavioral interventions up to
and including suspension and expulsion.
Are there items in the sample policy
that we want to review or changes we
need to make before we present the
policy to the Board?
The consensus of the Anti-Bullying
Committee is: Present the policy
revision as it is.
(2/6/13 Meeting)
2nd GOAL FOR THIS MEETING
• DETERMINE SCHOOL PROCESSES FOR
HANDLING COMPLAINTS
• The following lists the responses from
each school as to what their procedure is
right now.
BCHS
BCVS
BCMS
PES
WES
Report to school
admin
Report to Ms. Pickett,
call parents, report to
DOS
Report to
admin,
investigate,
deter. Consequ.
Report to
teacher,
guidance co.
Report to
teacher or
office
Based upon
severity, w/I 24
hrs.
Talk to teacher, contact Same as above
SRO if necessary
Yes
School admin
investigates
Board policy
Not sure
Do not know
N/A
?
handbook
Newspaper, All Call,
website, posters
Newspapers,
handbook,
website
handbook
Handbook,
parent nite
Principal
Principals & teachers
Principal/ vice
principal
Principal
School admin
Kept by admin
Not sure
Principal, in
student file
Principal &
Guidance Co.
School admin
School admin
Not sure
Not interested
in this
N/A
?
handbook
Handbook, discussion
Handbook,
handbook
Handbook
BCHS Procedure
1. Current procedures for reporting HIBC is to report incident
to school administrator.
2. Procedure for prompt investigation is based upon severity
of threat and priority of other school activities, but try to
investigate all incidents within 24 hour time frame.
3. I do not know of any school district process for responding
to an act of HIBC other than approved Board policy.
4. Annually publishing anti-bullying policy in BCHS handbook
and on school web site, possibly in county newspaper also.
5. Any new policy implementation would be the
responsibility of the school principal.
6. Record keeping of HIBC cases would be kept by
school administrator taking care of incident that was
reported.
7. Person responsible at BCHS to be point of contact would
need to be school administrators based upon
recommendations and discussions held about NOT using
SRO's or guidance counselors.
8. Distribution of policy annually to every student could be
in student handbook and means mentioned in #4 above.
9. No school level training for teachers and staff has taken
place other than the anti bullying programs presented to
students each year.
10. Schoolwide programs to educate students about bullying
are given annually and info on school web site at this time.
Wheeler Elementary
1. What is their current procedure for reporting an act of harassment,
intimidation, bullying, or cyber-bullying? Teachers or other faculty
member, parent, student, etc report incidents to teacher or office.
2. What is their procedure for prompt investigation of a report of an act
of harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyber-bullying? School
administration will investigate by interviewing all parties, call parents as
needed, and report to DOS and/or SRO
3. What is our school district’s process for responding to an act of HIBC?
___________
4. How do principals want to publicize the anti-bullying policy annually?
School Handbook and possibly an informative parent night
5. Who at your school will be responsible for ensuring that the policy is
implemented? School level administration
6. Who is keeping a record of all reported cases of HIBC for the August,
2013 reporting, including the manner of how issues are resolved or if
they are still pending? School level administration
7. Talk About It @ BCHS and/or BCMS- are we ready to attempt this
again? Who will be the point of contact, the person responsible for
intercepting these texts, emails, etc. as they come in? ________
8. How they are distributed the policy annually to every student?
Student handbook
9. How are they ensuring that their staff is adequately trained?
I think that HIBC is a topic of conversation in most schools. However,
since all situations are different, it is hard to have a blanket set of rules
for this. Each case is usually handled based on the information
collected. I do think teachers and all staff should be trained during a
countywide in-service.
10. What free bullying and harassment prevention resources are we
providing to our staff and students? I had a representative from Avalon
come in and do programs with PK-3 and grades 4-5.
PIKEVILLE ELEMENTARY
1. Report to teacher, guidance counselor, gym teacher
2. Yes
3. N/A
4. Student handbook
5. Principal
6. Principal and guidance counselor
7. N/A
8. Student handbook
9. N/A
10. N/A
BCVS
1. What is their current procedure for reporting an act of HIBC? Report to Mrs. Pickett and discuss
situation, call parents if necessary. Relate information to DOS.
2. What is their procedure for prompt investigation of a report of an act of HIBC? Question all
students involved, talk to teacher to gather information and if necessary call Carlos DavisSRO. Report
findings to High School and Dir. of Schools.
3. What is our school district’s process for responding to an act of HIBC? Not sure
4. How do principals want to publicize the anti-bullying policy annually? Newspaper, All call, school
website and Anti bullying posters in schools
5. Who at your school will be responsible for ensuring that the policy is implemented? Principals
and teachers
6. Who is keeping a record of all reported cases of HIBC for the August, 2013 reporting, including
the manner of how issues are resolved or if they are still pending? Not sure
7. Talk About It @ BCHS and/or BCMS- we are we ready to attempt this again. Who will be the point
of contact, the person responsible for intercepting these texts, emails, etc. as they come in? Not sure
8. How they are distributed the policy annually to every student? Student Handbook and discussion.
9. How are they ensuring that their staff is adequately trained? Discussion for signs of bullying and
how to handle different situations and what to look for in the classroom
10. What free bullying and harassment prevention resources are we providing to our staff and
students? Not sure
BCMS
1.Teachers, students, parents, report to Admin, Admin
investigates each report, determines consequences,
keeps every report in individual student files
2. Same as above
3. I don’t know
4. Newspapers, handbooks, website
5. Principal/Vice Principal
6. Principal
7. Not interested in this
8. Handbook, Website
9. No ‘formal’ training, countywide inservice to all staff
10. Guidance, Open-door policy to administration
Procedure for Addressing Complaints
Once a school has notice of bullying or harassing
incidents, it must take immediate and appropriate
action to determine what occurred. The specific
steps will vary depending upon the nature of the
allegations, the source of the complaint, and the age
of the student(s) involved. In all cases, however, the
inquiry should be prompt, thorough, and impartial.
• There should be a uniform, systemwide approach to intake and
management of complaints.
• Strong Suggestion:
–Ensure there is a complaint
coordinator at the district office and
each building level.
Suggested Process
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF PROCESS: The principal (or
designee) shall investigate harassment, intimidation,
bullying, or cyber-bullying when a student reports to
any principal, teacher, or guidance counselor that
physical harm or a threat of physical harm to such
student’s person or property has occurred.
1. Appoint an investigator who is organized, discreet,
open-minded, non-judgmental, & sensitive. (Have a
back up investigator available to ensure no conflicts of
interest exist.) This investigator is responsible for
overseeing the entire process.
2. Review all necessary bullying and/or harassment
policies, grievance procedures and the LEA/school
discipline codes.
3. Request the complaint be reduced to writing. (An
investigation is required regardless of whether the
complaint is in writing.)
4. Create an investigation plan that outlines the process
for handling the complaint.
5. Determine whether the allegations should be referred
to another agency.
6. Determine who should be interviewed, what
questions are relevant, whether to record the
interview, and whether an interim action plan is
needed pending the outcome of the investigation.
7. Determine if it is necessary to contact the LEA’s school
board attorney before taking any action.
Bledsoe County Schools’
Bullying/Harassment Report Form
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-1016(b)(12) states the
LEA should provide “the identification by job
title of school officials responsible for ensuring
that the policy is implemented.”
• Title IX at 34 CFR §106.8 and Section 504 at
34 CFR § 104.7 provide that a recipient “shall
designate at least one person to coordinate
efforts to comply.”
• A school is responsible for addressing harassment
incidents about which it knows or reasonably
should have known.
– Harassment may be in plain sight, widespread, or wellknown to staff and students (occurs in hallways, during
extracurricular activities, or a school bus)
– School officials may become aware of misconduct.
– IT IS OUR DUTY TO ACT UPON ANY REPORT OF
HARASSMENT, BULLYING, INTIMIDATION,
CYBERBULLYING.
Preparations for Meeting 3
• Before next meeting:
• Get the STAR codes for HIBC, determine if HIBC
issues are being documented in STAR now
• Submit policy to the BOE for approval
• Posters for the Anti-Bullying Hotline will be
posted at BCHS& BCVS today, 2/6/13, and at
BCMS on 2/5/13.
• Report statistics for the 1st month of calls to the
hotline.