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/