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ACTION MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Rockville, Maryland
February 22, 2016
MEMORANDUM To: Members of the Board of Education From: Patricia B. O’Neill, Chair, Board of Education Policy Management Committee Subject: Final Action, Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying On October 26, 2015, the Montgomery County Board of Education tentatively adopted a new policy, Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying. The tentatively adopted policy was distributed for public comments, and three comments were received. Members of the Policy Management Committee (Committee) further discussed Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying, on February 8, 2016. The Committee did not make any revisions to the policy.
The Committee Recommended Draft is included as Attachment A. Public comments are summarized in Attachment B. Original comments are included in Attachment C, and the Draft for Public Comment is included as Attachment D. The following resolution is provided for your consideration: WHEREAS, Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying, has been developed to establish a framework for preventing, intervening, and correcting workplace bullying; and WHEREAS, Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying, establishes processes to prevent, identify, report, investigate, and resolve instances of bullying, with corrective actions, as needed; and WHEREAS, The draft of Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying, was tentatively adopted by the Board of Education on October 26, 2015, and sent out for public comment; and WHEREAS, The Board of Education has received comments from the public and the Policy Management Committee’s recommendations; now therefore be it Resolved, That the Board of Education adopts Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying, as updated in the attached Committee Recommended Draft. PBO:mm Attachments
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
1 of 6
Related Entries: ABA-RB, ACA, ACA-RA, ACB, ACF, COC-RA, GAA, 1
GMA, GKA-RA, JHF, JHF-RA 2
Responsible Office: Human Resources and Development 3
Related Sources: Office of Human Resources and Development 4
Organizational Culture of Respect: Make it 5
Real 6
7
Workplace Bullying 8
9
10
A. PURPOSE 11
12
To affirm the Montgomery County Board of Education’s 13
(Board’s) commitment to an organizational culture of respect 14
in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) consistent with 15
Board Policies ACA, Human Relations and ACB, 16
Nondiscrimination. 17
18
To recognize and set forth the expectation of civility in all 19
interactions at work including freedom from bullying by MCPS 20
personnel and non-MCPS personnel such as vendors, volunteers 21
and parents, as represented in MCPS regulations. 22
23
To establish a framework for preventing, intervening, and 24
correcting workplace bullying with processes to prevent, 25
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
2 of 6
identify, report, investigate, and resolve instances of 26
bullying, with corrective actions, as needed. 27
28
This policy does not modify or limit the Board and 29
superintendent of school’s full rights, authority, and 30
discretion in the discharge of their duties and 31
responsibility to control, supervise, and manage MCPS under 32
applicable law, rules, and procedures. 33
34
B. ISSUE 35
36
The Board considers workplace bullying to be unacceptable and 37
will not tolerate it under any circumstances. For the 38
purposes of this policy, “workplace bullying” means repeated, 39
deliberate, hurtful mistreatment, either direct or indirect, 40
whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or 41
more employees against another employee or employees, and 42
that is: 43
44
1. Motivated by an actual or perceived personal 45
characteristic including race, national origin, marital 46
status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, 47
religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic 48
status, familial status, or physical or mental ability 49
or disability; or 50
51
2. Otherwise threatening or intimidating; and that occurs 52
at the work place and/or in the course of employment. 53
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
3 of 6
These behaviors may occur in person or via any means of 54
communication including electronic communication 55
whether the conduct or communication occurs on or off 56
district premises; and 57
58
3. Is sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to alter the 59
conditions of the individual’s working environment. 60
61
Workplace bullying is not limited to supervisor-to-62
subordinate conduct and may include peer-to-peer or 63
subordinate-to-supervisor conduct. Examples of workplace 64
bullying may include acts of humiliation, intimidation, or 65
sabotage of work performance. Workplace bullying may 66
adversely impact an individual’s physical or psychological 67
well-being, or work performance and advancement 68
opportunities. 69
70
C. POSITION 71
72
1. This policy does not modify or limit the Board and 73
superintendent of school’s full rights, authority, and 74
discretion in the discharge of their duties and 75
responsibility to control, supervise, and manage MCPS 76
under applicable law, rules, and procedures. 77
78
21. Employees are expected to conduct themselves with 79
behavior consistent with the MCPS Organizational Culture 80
of Respect and the standards and competencies of the 81
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
4 of 6
Professional Growth Systems which recognize the value 82
and the role of all contributors to the MCPS learning 83
community. 84
85
23. The Board affirms its belief that any bullying is 86
behavior inconsistent with the MCPS organizational 87
culture of respect and diverts organizational energy 88
from the core mission of MCPS. 89
90
34. The prevention of workplace bullying, as well as the 91
prevention of retaliation against individuals who report 92
acts of workplace bullying, require a system-wide effort 93
involving prevention, intervention, reporting, and 94
investigation, and resolution. 95
96
5. The Board expects civility and freedom from bullying in 97
all interactions between MCPS employees and others. 98
Staff shall be aware of resources available to address 99
bullying by non-MCPS employees, including MCPS 100
Regulations ABA-RB, School Visitors, or COC-RA, 101
Trespassing or Willful Disturbance on MCPS Property. 102
103
D. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES 104
105
1. MCPS will develop and implement procedures for periodic 106
and ongoing professional development designed to 107
increase understanding and awareness of the prevalence, 108
causes, and consequences of workplace bullying. 109
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
5 of 6
110
2. MCPS will develop and implement procedures for reporting 111
incidents of workplace bullying, including protection 112
from reprisal or retaliation against individuals making 113
reports in good faith. 114
115
3. The superintendent of schools will designate 116
responsibility for the appropriate review and resolution 117
of, and consequences for, workplace bullying. 118
119
4. Training will include guidance for supervisors and 120
coworkers to support employees who experience bullying 121
from non-employees in the workplace or in the process of 122
carrying out their work responsibilities. 123
124
E. DESIRED OUTCOMES 125
126
1. Every school and unit will demonstrate an atmosphere 127
that promotes understanding, respect, and positive 128
interaction among all individuals and groups. 129
130
2. MCPS schools and units will be free of workplace 131
bullying. 132
133
3. MCPS employees will experience civility in all their 134
interactions at work. 135
136
F. REVIEW AND REPORTING 137
ATTACHMENT A
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT
2/8/2016
ACH
6 of 6
138
1. This policy will be reviewed in accordance with the Board 139
policy review process. 140
141
2. All regulations developed in support of Board-adopted 142
policies shall be sent to the Board as items of 143
information. 144
145
146
147
Policy History: New policy adopted 148
ATTACHMENT B
Summary of Responses Policy ACH Page 1 2/9/16
Summary of Responses to
Policy ACH, Workplace Bullying
Public
Response
Number
Commentator
Issue/Concern
Staff Response
1 Yolande Bruno Very pleased to see this
document. Hopes that all
administrators take it
seriously when a staff
member complains of being
bullied.
2 Denika Mason It would be nice to have
drawn out what the plan or
process would be.
Important to have a plan that
weeds out those who would
complain about anything,
and those who really feel
they are begin emotionally
abused at work.
Regulation ACH-RA will
address the plan and
process.
3 MCPS Employee, name
withheld for privacy
Comment was of a personal
nature regarding an incident
of bullying and is not
included in this summary,
nor is the comment attached.
Employee’s comments
were forwarded to the
Office of Human
Resources and
Development’s
Performance Evaluation
and Compliance Unit.
Regulation ACH-RA will
address the plan and
process.
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
1 of 6
Related Entries: ABA-RB, ACA, ACA-RA, ACB, ACF, COC-RA, GAA, 1
GMA, GKA-RA, JHF, JHF-RA 2
Responsible Office: Human Resources and Development 3
Related Sources: Office of Human Resources and Development 4
Organizational Culture of Respect: Make it 5
Real 6
7
Workplace Bullying 8
9
10
A. PURPOSE 11
12
To affirm the Montgomery County Board of Education’s 13
(Board’s) commitment to an organizational culture of respect 14
in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) consistent with 15
Board Policies ACA, Human Relations and ACB, 16
Nondiscrimination. 17
18
To recognize and set forth the expectation of civility in all 19
interactions at work including freedom from bullying by MCPS 20
personnel and non-MCPS personnel such as vendors, volunteers 21
and parents, as represented in MCPS regulations. 22
23
To establish a framework for preventing, intervening, and 24
correcting workplace bullying with processes to prevent, 25
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
2 of 6
identify, report, investigate, and resolve instances of 26
bullying, with corrective actions, as needed. 27
28
This policy does not modify or limit the Board and 29
superintendent of school’s full rights, authority, and 30
discretion in the discharge of their duties and 31
responsibility to control, supervise, and manage MCPS under 32
applicable law, rules, and procedures. 33
34
B. ISSUE 35
36
The Board considers workplace bullying to be unacceptable and 37
will not tolerate it under any circumstances. For the 38
purposes of this policy, “workplace bullying” means repeated, 39
deliberate, hurtful mistreatment, either direct or indirect, 40
whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or 41
more employees against another employee or employees, and 42
that is: 43
44
1. Motivated by an actual or perceived personal 45
characteristic including race, national origin, marital 46
status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, 47
religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic 48
status, familial status, or physical or mental ability 49
or disability; 50
51
or 52
53
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
3 of 6
2. Otherwise threatening or intimidating; and that occurs 54
at the work place and/or in the course of employment. 55
These behaviors may occur in person or via any means of 56
communication including electronic communication 57
whether the conduct or communication occurs on or off 58
district premises; and 59
60
3. Is sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to alter the 61
conditions of the individual’s working environment. 62
63
Workplace bullying is not limited to supervisor-to-64
subordinate conduct and may include peer-to-peer or 65
subordinate-to-supervisor conduct. Examples of workplace 66
bullying may include acts of humiliation, intimidation, or 67
sabotage of work performance. Workplace bullying may 68
adversely impact an individual’s physical or psychological 69
well-being, or work performance and advancement 70
opportunities. 71
72
C. POSITION 73
74
1. This policy does not modify or limit the Board and 75
superintendent of school’s full rights, authority, and 76
discretion in the discharge of their duties and 77
responsibility to control, supervise, and manage MCPS 78
under applicable law, rules, and procedures. 79
80
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
4 of 6
21. Employees are expected to conduct themselves with 81
behavior consistent with the MCPS Organizational Culture 82
of Respect and the standards and competencies of the 83
Professional Growth Systems which recognize the value 84
and the role of all contributors to the MCPS learning 85
community. 86
87
23. The Board affirms its belief that any bullying is 88
behavior inconsistent with the MCPS organizational 89
culture of respect and diverts organizational energy 90
from the core mission of MCPS. 91
92
34. The prevention of workplace bullying, as well as the 93
prevention of retaliation against individuals who report 94
acts of workplace bullying, require a system-wide effort 95
involving prevention, intervention, reporting, and 96
investigation and resolution. 97
98
5. The Board expects civility and freedom from bullying in 99
all interactions between MCPS employees and others. 100
Staff shall be aware of resources available to address 101
bullying by non-MCPS employees, including MCPS 102
Regulations ABA-RB, School Visitors, or COC-RA, 103
Trespassing or Willful Disturbance on MCPS Property. 104
105
D. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES 106
107
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
5 of 6
1. MCPS will develop and implement procedures for periodic 108
and ongoing professional development designed to 109
increase understanding and awareness of the prevalence, 110
causes, and consequences of workplace bullying. 111
112
2. MCPS will develop and implement procedures for reporting 113
incidents of workplace bullying, including protection 114
from reprisal or retaliation against individuals making 115
reports in good faith. 116
117
3. The superintendent of schools will designate 118
responsibility for the appropriate review and resolution 119
of, and consequences for, workplace bullying. 120
121
4. Training will include guidance for supervisors and 122
coworkers to support employees that experience bullying 123
from non-employees in the workplace or in the process of 124
carrying out their work responsibilities. 125
126
E. DESIRED OUTCOMES 127
128
1. Every school and unit will demonstrate an atmosphere 129
that promotes understanding, respect, and positive 130
interaction among all individuals and groups. 131
132
2. MCPS schools and units will be free of workplace 133
bullying. 134
135
ATTACHMENT D
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
10/26/2015
ACH
6 of 6
3. MCPS employees will experience civility in all their 136
interactions at work. 137
138
F. REVIEW AND REPORTING 139
140
1. This policy will be reviewed in accordance with the Board 141
policy review process. 142
143
2. All regulations developed in support of Board-adopted 144
policies shall be sent to the Board as items of 145
information. 146
147
148
149
Policy History: New policy adopted 150