BULLYINGPreventions and Responsibilities

Today’s focus• Defining bullying• Signs and signals• Statistics• Updated policies and laws• School responsibilities• CCE’s plan and interventions

What is bullying

?

Bullying is…unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.

The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

Types of Bullying

Verbal•Teasing•Taunting•Name-calling•Threatening•Inappropriate comments

Physical•Hitting, kicking, punching•Spitting•Tripping•Taking or breaking belongings•Rude gestures

Social•Leaving out of groups•Telling others to not be friends with someone•Spreading rumors•Embarrassing in public

Where does bullying happen?

• Hallway• Classroom• Cafeteria• Bathroom• Bus• Playground• Neighborhood• Online• Texts

Where does bullying happen most often?

• Hallway• Classroom• Cafeteria• Bathroom• Bus• Playground• Neighborhood• Online• Texts

Possible forms of Cyber-bullying

• Emails• Texts• Instant messages• Chat rooms• Blogs• Social Networking (facebook, twitter)• Personal Websites

Warning signs of bullying victims

• Unexplainable injuries• Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry• Frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking

illness• Changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge

eating. • Difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares• Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting

to go to school• Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations• Feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem• Self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home,

harming themselves, or talking about suicide

How many children are bullied?

• 20% of high school students were bullied on school property at least once in the previous 12 months (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009)

• •28% of students ages 12-18 were bullied at school during the 2008/2009 school year

(National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011)

How are children bullied?Forms of bullying at school (NCES, 2011)

• 19% made fun of, called names, or insulted• 17% subject of rumors• 9% pushed, shoved, tripped, spit on• 6% threatened with harm• 5% excluded from activities on purpose• 4% forced to do things they didn’t want to do• 3% had property destroyed• 6% of students ages 12-18 had been cyberbullied

(anywhere)

Children are more likely to be bullied in elementary than in any other school level.

(NCVS, 2009)

Boys vs. Girls

• There are not vast differences in the percentages of boys and girls who are bullied

• Boys are typically bullied by boys; girls are bullied by boys and girls

• Most studies find that boys are more likely than girls to bully their peers. – On average, boys

are:1.7x as likely to bully– 2.5x as likely to bully and

also be bullied (bully-victims)

(NCES, 2009)

Likelihood to report bullying:

Cyberbullying Stats

• 42% of students in grades 6-8 report being bullied online

• Cyberbullying incidences nearly doubles every year

• Girls are twice as likely to engage• 62% of those bullied are bullied by students at

their school

NC & I-SS Laws and Policies

As defined by NC Law:

• “Bullying or harassing behavior is any pattern of gestures or written, electronic, or verbal communications, OR any physical act OR an threatening communication that takes place on school property , at any school-sponsored function, or on a school bus

AND THAT:

• Places a student or school employee in actual and reasonable fear of harm to his or her person OR damage to his or her property

OR

• Creates or is certain to create a hostile environment by substantially interfering with or impairing a students educational performance, opportunities or benefits

What is a hostile environment?

• Hostile environment= victim SUBJECTIVELY views the conduct as bullying or harassing behavior

AND:

• The conduct is objectively severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would agree that it is bullying or harassing behavior

NC Law cont…

• Bullying or harassment behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by actual or perceived differentiating characteristics such as:– Race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,

gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, disability

– An association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristic

Students’ Criminal Liability for cyber-bullying

• G.S14-458.1 – makes it a crime to use a computer to do any of the following “with intent to intimidate or torment a minor”– Create fake websites/profiles– Post or encourage others to post specific info on a minor– Post a real or doctored image of a minor– Access password protected computer data– Send repeated emails– Make a statement intended to provoke someone else to

stalk or harass– Sign up a minor for pornography or junk email

Senate Bill 707 – School Violence Prevention Act

• Makes it criminal for a student to use a computer to do any of the following “with intent to intimidate or torment a school employee”– Create fake websites/profiles– Post or encourage others to post specific info on an

employee– Post a real or doctored image of an employee– Access password protected computer data– Send repeated emails– Make a statement intended to provoke someone else to

stalk or harass an employee– Sign up an employee for pornography or junk email

Reporting a bullying incident

• Students should report bullying• Teachers and school personnel must report

bullying– Employees who have witnessed or has reliable

information that student or school employee has been subject to any act or bullying or harassing

behavior shall report the incident to an appropriate school official

Factors that influence reporting• Assumptions about child behavior based on

framework of developmental issues and individual issues

• Intervention based on perception of how upset child is

• The perception that adults don't act may lead students to conclude that adults don't care, or that there are different standards for adults' behavior than for young people's

• Kids often don’t report because they feel ashamed or powerless

What often happens…

• Dismiss bullying behavior as ‘part of growing up’

• 25% of teachers report that they do not think its necessary to intervene in bullying( Olweus, D. (2001)

• We don’t pay attention to the ‘imbalance of power’

What happens if we don’t prevent bullying from happening?

• Potential for legal liability– Negligent supervision– Violations of US constitutional rights– Discrimination Claims under federal law on the

fact that victims were members of a ‘protected class’ because of race, ethnicity, sex or disability

I-SS School Board Bullying Policies

• Policy Code: 1710/4021/7230 Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying

• Policy Code: 1510/4200/7270 School Safety

Case examples of bullying:

• Cavello c Sherburne-Earlville CSD- Negligent Supervision

• Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District- Violation of Constitutional Rights

• Vance v. Spencer County Public School District- Violations of Anti-Discrimination Statutes

Cavello v. Sherburne-Earlville CSD

• Negligent supervision• Brother and Sister bullied• Bullies received little or no consequences• Students sued• Court held in favor of student

Lesson: If you know a kid is a bully , then you have a duty to provide reasonable supervision to prevent him/her from hurting others and duty to reasonably supervise a known victim

Flores v Morgan Hill

• School held liable for violations of students constitutional rights

• Anti-gay harassment• Students alleged districts response/lack of

response to anti-gay harassment denied them equal protection under the law, since other types of harassment in school wasn’t tolerated

Court Outcome

• Ruled in favor of the student • Cited ‘deliberate indifference’ to harassment – found

when school districts response is clearly unreasonable

• Case settled for $1.1 milLessons Learned:

- When on notice , take action - Harassment and bullying based on actual or

perceived sexual orientation or any other characteristic must be responded to as aggressively as any other type of H & B

Vance v. Spencer County Public School District

• Over a 3 year period, a middle school girl suffered numerous instances where other students taunted her with vulgar language, groped her, attempted to remove her clothing , shoved her….

• Victim and mother filed numerous complaints• Response was to talk to students but no investigation and no

discipline• Parent and victim filed suit alleging school system had

subjected her to intentional sexual discrimination as result of peer conduct

• 220000 awarded to Victim• On appeal , victim won

3 Elements

• Sexual harassment was so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it could be said to deprive the plaintiff access to schools educational opportunities

• The school had actual knowledge of the sexual harassment

• The school system was indifferent to the harassment

Lesson Learned: Its all about how the school responds

Some things not to do…

• Mediation and Conflict Resolution between Victim and Bully- assumes that participants on equal social footing

• Interviewing Bully and Victim together• Training Victim to ignore, be assertive- as only

response • Education alone- simple short term, piecemeal

approaches

CCE Goals and Interventions

I-SS Goals• An integrated approach based on clear

expectations and consistent consequences• Followed up by counseling for perpetrators- clear,

directed, not just ‘talking to’• Support for Victims• EDUCATION for Silent Majority• Goal is to create culture in which adults stop all

bullying immediately• Students learn and become part of anti-bullying

solution• Distinguish between ‘ratting out’ and bullying• Increased adult supervision and vigilance in

common areas Olweus, D. (1997)

Reporting and Interventions

• Bully birdhouses & Online survey• Ms. Campbell – reporting, counseling, in-class

sessions, student council• School norms and expectations - All• Mr. Foster & Mr. Boula – reporting, educating

staff & community• Bully Prevention Plan - All

We set the tone.• RELATIONSHIPS & TRUST– If one student feels that they can’t go to you,

there are 10 more that feel that way• REPORTING & RECORDING– If a student comes to you, write it down. Seek out

administration or counselor if unsure. But you must do something.

• DO NOT IGNORE– You set the tone for your class and students that

see you. When you stop it right away, they have confidence in you…and also know you won’t tolerate it.

For more information

• http://stopbullying.gov• http://cce2011.pbworks.com