Responding to school bullying in modern times
A focus on detecting , investigating and discouraging student bullying is critical for educators to minimize a school district ’ s potential liability and , more importantly , to ensure “ a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning .”
26 Leadership
While school bullying is not a new phenomenon , the media attention on school shootings and suicides alleged to involve bullying victims is greater than ever . According to the experts , school bullying has widespread and harmful impacts on victims and other students , and it can push a student down the path toward self-harm or causing harm to others .
School districts now see bullying as a major concern that must be confronted , rather than avoided , and they have increased efforts to discourage , detect , investigate and prevent bullying at their school sites . Federal and state governments have also encouraged this focus and provide guidance and / or procedures to help address the issue .
On the federal level , the government has studied the issue of school bullying and violence , and it has issued guidance to school districts that links and addresses both issues . For example , President Obama issued a Presidential Directive in 2013 that identified key school safety initiatives and specific proposals to curb school bullying after the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 .
At the state level in California , bullying is addressed several places in the Education Code . Initially , each school district should already comply with the Comprehensive School Safety Plan statutes , which require policies to address harassment and strategies for promoting “ a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning ” ( EC 32280-32289 ). These statutes encourage – but do not require – that these safety plans include policies and procedures to prevent school bullying .
Defining bullying
With regard to student discipline , the California Legislature provided a definition of bullying when it revised the Education Code to include it as a disciplinable offense . EC 49800 ( r ) defines bullying to mean : “ Any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct that is directed toward one or more pupils , and that has had , or can be reasonably predicted to have , one or more of the following effects :
• Placing a reasonable pupil in fear of harm to his / her / their person or property ;
• Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his or
By Trevin Sims and Darren Kameya