BULLYING LANGUAGE FOR HANDBOOK

BULLYING / HARASSMENT

All students have the right to an educational atmosphere that is free from verbal and/or physical abuse. Bullying is defined as physical or verbal mistreatment of a person where an imbalance of physical or psychological power is created with the bully being stronger (or perceived to be stronger) than the victim and which causes a disruption to the learning environment. Aggressive behavior or bullying is any behavior that may subject a student to insults, taunts, or challenges whether verbal or physical in nature (either isolated or repeated behavior), which are likely to intimidate and/or provoke a violent or disorderly response from the student being treated in this matter. This also includes the encouragement or prodding of other students to engage in these types of aggressive behaviors.

These behaviors are, but are not limited to:

Physical: hitting, kicking, grabbing, spitting

Verbal: name calling, racist remarks, put-downs, extortion

Indirect: spreading rumors, wearing or possessing items depicting or implying hatred or prejudice, exclusion from peer group, taking and hiding or destroying another’s papers or other possessions

Written: threatening e-mail, notes, and/or graffiti

Coercion: forcing other students into acts against their wishes

Our handbook reads as follows:

"Harassment/Bullying/Hazing - No student should accept being harassed/bullied by other student(s). Students should report any type of harassment/bullying by other student(s) to a teacher, counselor, nurse, or principal. Harassment/bullying includes threats, name-calling, intimidation, hazing and inappropriate touching, gestures, symbol display or verbal/non-verbal/written communication that makes a student feel uncomforatable or unsafe even if the person engaging in such behavior does not feel he/she is harassing/bullying. This includes harassment/bullying of a racial, sexual, or non-sexual nature.

This comes from the Student Discipline portion of our handbook.

BULLYING PROHIBITED

The Community Unit School District 10 will not tolerate
harassing or intimidating conduct, whether verbal, physical or visual
that affects tangible benefits of education, that unreasonably
interferes with a student’s educational performance, or that creates
an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational environment. No
person, including a district employee or agent, or student, shall harass
or intimidate another student based upon a student’s sex, color, race,
religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental
disability, sexual orientation or other protected group. Community Unit School District 10 will take all threats seriously with
both school consequences and police involvement (when deemed
appropriate). There will be NO tolerance for any aggressive,
threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior that does physical or
psychological harm to a student or staff member or urging other students
to engage in such conduct. Disciplinary action may be taken against any
student guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct, including, but not
limited to, using any form or type of aggressive behavior that does
physical or psychological harm to someone else and/or urging other
students to engage in such conduct. Prohibited aggressive behavior
includes, without limitation, the use of violence, force, noise,
coercion, threats, intimidation, fear, bullying or other comparable
conduct.

CYBER-BULLYING

Cyberbullying is defined as bullying via the use of the Internet,
interactive and digital technologies (such as computers, PDAs, etc.)
and/or mobile telephones. The use of any school computer or electronic
device for the purpose of cyberbullying is strictly prohibited.
Cyberbullying using home-based or off-campus devices that results in a
material and/or substantial disruption to the school and/or a true
threat will constitute grounds for investigation as to whether or not
the use violates applicable law or school rules. Should misuse be
determined, the student may receive disciplinary consequences
appropriate for the frequency and severity of the violation.
We encourage students and parents to notify the CHS office of any
incidents regarding bullying immediately.

Hazing/Bullying

Soliciting, encouraging, aiding, or engaging in hazing and/or bullying are prohibited. "Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act directed against a student by intimidating, forcing or influencing a student to do an act or failing to do an act against the student's will for the purpose of being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization, club, or athletic team, or activity which relates to a student's standing by way of age, gender, class affiliation or relationship with other students. "Bullying" is any type of behavior that may cause physical or emotional harm to someone else and/or urging other students to engage in such conduct. Bullying behaviors may include, but are not limited to behaviors in which another student, or group of students, harass or intimidate a student based upon student's sex, color, race, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, etc. Examples of prohibited conduct include, but are not limited to: name-calling, using derogatory slurs, wearing or possessing items depicting or implying hatred or prejudice of ones character or exclusion. Students engaging in hazing or bullying will be subject to one or more of the disciplinary actions outlined in policy 7:190.

SCHOOL DISTRICT 103

ANTI-BULLYING and Civility POLICY

The School District 103 Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to promote and maintain a healthy, safe, orderly, and caring learning environment for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Harassment or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Demonstration of appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment or bullying is expected of administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members.

“Harassment or bullying” is any gesture or written, verbal, graphic, or physical act (including electronically transmitted acts – i.e. internet, cell phone, personal digital assistant (pda), or wireless hand held device) that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression; or a mental, physical, or sensory disability or impairment; or by any other distinguishing characteristic.

Specific acts of bullying may include but are not limited to name calling, teasing, physical abuse, (e.g., hitting, pushing, pinching, or kicking), threats, taking of personal possessions, sending abusive text messages, instant messages, internet e-mails, and phone messages, forcing others to hand over money, forcing others to do things against one’s will, ignoring or leaving others out, attacking others in any way.

Such behavior is considered harassment or bullying whether it takes place on or off school property including but not limited to:

· any school building or on any school premises before, during or after school hours;

· on any bus or other vehicle as part of any school activity;

· waiting at any bus stop;

· any school function, extracurricular activity or other activity or event;

· and any time or place when the behavior has a direct and immediate effect on maintaining order and discipline in the schools.

“Harassment/Bullying is conduct that meets all of the following criteria:

· is directed at one or more pupils

· substantially interferes with educational opportunities, benefits, or programs of one or more pupils;

· adversely affects the ability of a pupil to participate in or benefit from the school district’s educational programs or activities because the conduct, as reasonably perceived by the pupil, is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive as to have this effect; and,

· is based on a pupil’s actual or perceived distinguishing characteristic (see above), or is based on an association with another person who has or is perceived to have any of these characteristics.

The School District 103 Board of Education expects administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members to conduct themselves in a manner in keeping with their levels of development, maturity, and demonstrated capabilities with a proper regard for the rights and welfare of other students, school staff, and volunteers.

The School District 103 Board of Education believes that standards for student behavior must be set cooperatively through interaction among the administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members of the school district, producing an atmosphere that encourages students to grow in empathy, anger management, and problem solving. The development of this atmosphere requires respect for self and others, as well as for district and community property on the part of students, staff, and community members.

The School District 103 Board of Education believes that the best discipline is self-imposed, and that it is the responsibility of staff to use disciplinary situations as opportunities for helping students learn to assume responsibility and consequences of their behavior. Staff members who interact with students shall apply Second Step guidelines designed to prevent discipline problems and encourage students’ abilities to develop self-discipline.

Since bystander support of harassment or bullying can support these behaviors, the district prohibits both active and passive support for acts of harassment or bullying. The staff should encourage students to support students who walk away from these acts when they see them, constructively attempt to stop them, or report them to the designated authority.

The School District 103 Board of Education requires its school administrators to develop and implement procedures, such as Second Step, that ensure both the appropriate consequences and remedial responses to a student or staff member who commits one or more acts of harassment or bullying. The following factors, at a minimum, shall be given full consideration by school administrators in the development of the procedures for determining appropriate consequences and remedial measures for each act of harassment or bullying.

Factors for Determining Consequences

· Age, development, and maturity levels of the parties involved

· Degree of harm

· Surrounding circumstances

· Nature and severity of the behavior(s)

· Incidences of past or continuing pattern(s) of behavior

· Relationship between the parties involved

· Context in which the alleged incident(s) occurred

Factors for Determining Remedial Measures

Personal

· Life skill competencies

· Experiential deficiencies

· Social relationships

· Strengths

· Talents

· Interests

· Hobbies

· Extra-curricular activities

· Classroom participation

· Academic performance

Environmental

· School culture

· School climate

· Student-staff relationships and staff behavior toward the student

· General staff management of classrooms or other educational environments

· Staff ability to prevent and de-escalate difficult or inflammatory situations

· Social-emotional and behavioral supports

· Social relationships

· Community activities

· Neighborhood culture

· Family situation

Consequences and appropriate remedial actions for a student or staff member who commits one or more acts of harassment or bullying may range from positive behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion, in the case of a student, or suspension or termination in the case of an employee, as set forth in the board of education’s approved code of student conduct or employee handbook.

Consequences for a student who commits an act of harassment or bullying shall be unique to the individual incident and will vary in method and severity according to the nature of the behavior, the developmental age of the student, and the student’s history of problem behaviors and performance, and must be consistent with the board of education’s approved code of student conduct. Remedial measures shall be designed to: correct the problem behavior; prevent another occurrence of the behavior; and protect the victim of the act. Effective discipline should employ a school-wide approach of a Social Emotional Learning commemorate of Second Step and to adopt a rubric of bullying offenses and the associated consequences. The consequences and remedial measures may include, but are not limited to, the examples listed below:

Examples of Consequences

· Admonishment

· Temporary removal from the classroom

· Loss of privileges

· Classroom or administrative detention

· Referral to disciplinarian

· In-school suspension during the school week

· Alternative school during the school week

· Saturday school/detention

· Out-of-school suspension

· Legal action

· Expulsion or termination

Examples of Remedial Measures

Personal

· Framing the aggressive behavior as a failed attempt to solve a real problem or reach a goal. The adult assists the misbehaving student to find a better way to solve the problem or meet the goal.

· Restitution and restoration

· Peer support group

· Corrective instruction or other relevant learning or service experience

· Supportive discipline to increase accountability for the bullying offense

· Supportive intervention, including participation of an intervention and referral services team, peer mediation, etc.

· Behavioral assessment or evaluation, including, but not limited to, a referral to a Student Support Team, as appropriate

· Behavioral management plan, with benchmarks that are closely monitored

· Involvement of school disciplinarian

· Student counseling

· Parent conferences

· Student treatment

· Student therapy

The School District 103 Board refuses to condone uncivil conduct on school grounds or at school-sponsored activities, whether by administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members.

Specific acts of “uncivil conduct” may include but are not limited to directing vulgar, obscene or profane gestures or words at another individual; taunting, jeering, inciting others to taunt or jeer at an individual; raising one’s voice at another individual, repeatedly interrupting another individual who is speaking at an appropriate time and place; imposing personal demands at times or in settings where they conflict with assigned duties and cannot reasonably be met; using personal gesturing in a manner that puts another in fear for his/her personal safety; invading the personal space of an individual after being directed to move away; physically blocking an individual’s exit from a room or location; remaining in a classroom or school area after a teacher or administer in authority has directed one to leave; violating the privacy of another individual’s belongings (except for lawful searches by school officials conducted in connection with the administration of school rules and applicable laws); or other disruptive conduct.

Severe or persistent acts of uncivil conduct, bullying, or harassment may result in further action, such as discipline, adverse employment action, or criminal charges, as applicable. Nothing in this policy is intended to interfere with the ability of school officials to maintain order and discipline in the schools or to enforce school rules and applicable

laws.

The School District 103 Board of Education requires principal and/or the principal’s designee at each school to be responsible for receiving complaints alleging violation of this policy. If the complaint is against the Superintendent or a member of the Board of Education, the complaint shall be received by the Board President. All school employees are required to report alleged violation of this policy to the principal or the principal’s designee. All other members of the school community, including administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members are encouraged to report any act that may be a violation of this policy. Reports may be made anonymously, but formal disciplinary action may not be based solely on the basis of an anonymous report.