BULLYING Preventions and Responsibilities

1. BULLYINGPreventions and Responsibilities

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

3. What is bullying?

4. 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.

5. Types of Bullying

6. Where does bullying happen? • Hallway • Classroom • Cafeteria • Bathroom • Bus • Playground • Neighborhood • Online • Texts

7. Where does bullying happen most often? • Hallway • Classroom • Cafeteria • Bathroom • Bus • Playground • Neighborhood • Online • Texts

8. Possible forms of Cyber-bullying Emails Texts Instant messages Chat rooms Blogs Social Networking (facebook, twitter) Personal Websites

9. Warning signs of bullying victims

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. 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)

14. Likelihood to report bullying:

15. 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

16. NC & I-SS Laws and Policies

17. 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:

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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’

26. 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

27. I-SS School Board Bullying Policies • Policy Code:  1710/4021/7230  Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying • Policy Code: 1510/4200/7270 School Safety

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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 mil • Lessons 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. CCE Goals and Interventions

36. 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)

37. 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

38. We set the tone. • 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. • RELATIONSHIPS & TRUST • If one student feels that they can’t go to you, there are 10 more that feel that way

39. For more information • http://stopbullying.gov • http://cce2011.pbworks.com