Bullying Prevention, Intervention, and

ReportingWhat Parents Need to Know

Division of School Climate and Safety

Why Are You Here?

❑ To prevent or intervene in bullying.

❑ To learn about bullying, harassment, and intimidation.

❑ My child has been bullied.

❑ My child has witnessed bullying.

❑ My child has participated in bullying.

❑ I know of other students who have been bullied.

❑ Other?

Objectives

• Define bullying and identify behaviors that constitute bullying and harassment.

• Differentiate between bullying and conflict.

• Understand how BCPS addresses bullying and harassment.

• Identify strategies to use to:

❑ Protect your child from bullying.

❑ Intervene if your child is bullied.

❑ Talk to your child about witnessing

bullying behaviors.

❑ Address your child’s bullying behaviors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnsYaxGnBUY

Three Bodies of Law

School Administrative Law• Student Code of Conduct

• Board Policy and Rules

State and Federal Civil Laws• Negligence

• Civil rights violations-Harassment (disability, race, sexual orientation,…)

Criminal Law

• Grace’s Law (cyberbullying)

• Assault and battery

• Hate crimes

• Child abuse

Bullying Policies

Maryland’s Model Policy to Address Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation

http://www.msde.maryland.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0700B064-C2B3-41FC-A6CF-D3DAE4969707/19401/ModelBullyingPolicyDRAFT102108.pdf

Baltimore County Public Schools (Revised 2016)

Policy 5580-http://www.bcps.org/system/policies_rules/policies/5000Series/POL5580.pdf

Rule 5580-http://www.bcps.org/system/policies_rules/rules/5000Series/RULE5580.pdf

Bullying Defined

Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment, or Intimidation

Superintendent’s Rule 5580

A pattern or behavior when a person repeatedly uses power in an intentional manner, including verbal, physical, or written conduct or intentional electronic communication against one or more students.

Characteristics of Bullying

• Intentional behavior

• Violence or aggression

• Repetition

• Power differential

•Unwanted

Is it Bullying?

To determine if an event was indeed bullying, ask yourself?

Was it intentional? Yes No

Is there an imbalance of power? Yes No

Is the behavior repeated (pattern of

behavior?)

Yes No

Does the target have troubled defending

himself or herself?

Yes No

Was the target threated with retaliation if

he/she told?

Yes No

Conflict

DefinedConflict is a struggle between two or more people

who perceive they have incompatible goals or

desires.

Conflict occurs naturally as we interact with one

another. It is a normal part of life that we will not

always agree with other people about the things

we want, what we think, or what we want to do.

Most conflicts arise in the moment because

people of the same relative amount of power see

the same situation from two different points of

view.

Is it a Conflict?

• Two siblings share a bedroom and do not agree on what color to paint the walls.

• Two strangers clash over a place in a movie line.

• Neighbors disagree about who should clean up debris after a storm.

• Two friends want to wear the same outfit to a party.

• Children quarrel over who gets to go first.

• Adults can’t agree on how to spend a weekend.

• Teenagers dispute who should babysit on a Saturday night.

• Co-workers argue over how a job should be done.

Is it a Conflict?

Think of some of the ways we describe people in conflict – ‘they were butting heads”-“she gave as good as she got” - “they were going back and forth at each other” - “it was he said, she said.” Both people are equally “telling their side of the story.”

In a conflict people may get frustrated and angry. Chances are the amount of emotion each person feels will be relatively equal because both are vying for what they want.

In the heat of the moment, one or both individual’s emotions can escalate a conflict. All of us have known of conflicts in which people have said or done things to hurt one another. Often they later regret what they said or did.

Cyberbullying Defined

Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment, or Intimidation

Superintendent’s Rule 5580

A communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including the use of social media sites, telephone, cellular phone, computer, tablet or any other electronic communication device. .

Harassment Defined

Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment, or Intimidation

Superintendent’s Rule 5580

Includes actual or perceived negative actions that offend, ridicule, or demean another individual with regard to race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, familial status, physical or mental ability, or disability.

Intimidation Defined

Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment, or Intimidation

Superintendent’s Rule 5580

Subjecting an individual to intentional action that seriously threatens and induces a sense of fear and/or inferiority.

Types of BHI

• Direct

• Indirect

• Cyberbullying

• Sexual Harassment

Impact of BHI

Bullying affects everyone.

Victim

Target

Bystanders

Witnesses

Upstanders

Bully

Student

Who Bullies

Be careful with labels.

Effects of Bullying

• Individuals

• School Climate❑ It interferes with student learning.

❑ It creates a climate of fear and disrespect.

❑ Students may perceive lack of control/caring.

BCPS Bullying Data 2015-2017

Baltimore County Schools Reports

❑ 2014-2015: 751 reports

❑ 2015-2016: 743 reports

❑ 2016-2017: 901 reports

Age of student victims:

• 117 - age 12

• 114 - age 10

• 106 - age 13

Location of incidents:

• 760 - on school property

• 111 - via Internet

Description of Incident:

• 560 - teasing, name calling, making critical remarks or threatening

• 515 - physical aggression

• 304 – demeaning and making the victim of jokes

Age of alleged offenders:

• 129 - age 13

• 108 - age 11

• 105 - age 12

BCPS Bullying Data 2014-2015

Alleged Motives:• 243-unknown

• 142-Just to be mean

Investigation Methods:• 492-Interviewed student victim

• 472-interviewed alleged offender

• 316-interviewed witnesses

Corrective Actions:• 324-student conference

• 315-parent phone call

• 222-student warning

• 168- mediation

What Can Parents Do?

• Your child is being bullied.

• Your child witnesses bullying.

• Preventing and Addressing Cyberbullying.

• Your child bullies others.❑ Quiz- Do You Bully?

Reporting Bullying

• Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation Reporting Form❑ Written

❑ Electronic

• Report to Staff Member

• Advantages of Reporting Electronically

http://www.bcps.org/apps/bhi/

What Your Child’s School Should Do

• Have a bullying prevention plan.

• Notify you if your child complains of being bullied.

• Investigate the bullying complaint.❑ Meet with your child to learn what happened.

❑ Meet with anyone who witnessed the incident.

❑ Meet with the person accused of bullying.

❑ Review surveillance tape if available.

• Inform you of the outcome of the investigation in writing.

• Develop a plan to keep your child safe.

• Inform you of their plans for handling the situation.

• Intervene with the person who is bullying.

• Administer consequences as appropriate.

• Monitor adherence to the plan.

Common Mistakes

• Telling a child to ignore the bullying.

• Blaming the child for being bullied.

• Encouraging the child to retaliate.

• Confusing bullying with conflict and general bad behavior.

• Making a target of bullying meet with the offender.

• Sending a bully and offender to mediation.

• Labeling students.

• Encouraging witnesses to stand up to students that bully.

• Talking about bullying and suicide in the same conversation.

BCPS Bullying Prevention

Code of Conduct

Policy and Rule

Health Education Curriculum

Professional Development

Character Education Emphasis

Bullying Prevention Events• National Bullying Prevention Month (Oct)

• Student-led Bullying Prevention Week

• Programs and Guest Speaker

• Parent Education Opportunities

BCPS Bullying Intervention

Student conferences

Parent/student conferences

Bullying prevention education

Counselor referral

Loss of privileges

Referral to Student Support Team

Schedule changes

Diversity/Equity training

Suspension/expulsion

Arrests for criminal behavior

School Staff Duties

• A duty to train and be informed

• A duty to investigate

• A duty to remedy

• A duty to protect

•A duty to monitor

Resources for Parents

Helping Your Child: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/helping-your-child.asp

Tips and Resources for Parents: http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying_tips_for_parents.page

5 Tips for Teachers, Principals, and Parents: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bullying-prevention-tips-teachers-parents-anne-obrien

Cyberbullying:

http://cyberbullying.us/resources/parents/

http://www.connectsafely.org/cyberbullying/