Bullying / School Safety

BULLYING AND OTHER FORMS OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR 

The Board of Education is committed to providing a safe, positive, productive, and nurturing educational environment for all of its students. The Board encourages the promotion of positive interpersonal relations between members of the school community.

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying toward a student, whether by other students, staff, or third parties is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. This prohibition includes aggressive behavior, physical, verbal, and psychological abuse, and violence within a dating relationship. The Board will not tolerate any gestures, comments, threats, or actions which cause or threaten to cause bodily harm or personal degradation. This policy applies to all activities in the District, including activities on school property, on a school bus, or while enroute to or from school, and those occurring off school property if the student or employee is at any school-sponsored, school- approved or school-related activity or function, such as field trips or athletic events where students are under the school's control, in a school vehicle, or where an employee is engaged in school business. It also applies to Dating Violence.

See Board Policies Related to Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, and reporting:

You can view these policies and all Board of Education policies by clicking this link and putting the policy number in the search area.

Any person or group having a legitimate interest in the operations of this District shall have the right to present a request, suggestion, or complaint concerning District personnel, the program, or the operations of the District. At the same time, the Board of Education has a duty to protect its staff from unnecessary harassment. It is the intent of this policy to provide the means for judging each public complaint in a fair and impartial manner and to seek a remedy where appropriate.

 

It is the desire of the Board to rectify any misunderstandings between the public and the District by direct discussions of an informal type among the interested parties. It is only when such informal meetings fail to resolve the differences, shall more formal procedures be employed.

 

Any requests, suggestions, or complaints reaching the Board, Board members, and the administration shall be referred to the Superintendent for consideration according to the following procedure ....... (see policy 9130)


The Law

Ohio Revised Code/Title 33 Education-Libraries/Chapter 3313 Boards of Education

Section 3313.666 | District policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying required.

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3313.666

Safer Ohio School Tip Line- Information

SAFER OHIO School Tip Line Reporting: If you feel unsafe or know someone who feels unsafe, please report it here. After you fill out the form below, Safer Ohio School Tip Line sends an email to a school administrator with all of the details from your report. 

Definition of Terms

Harassment, intimidation or bullying” means:

Any intentional written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that a student or group of students exhibited toward other particular student more than once and the behavior both:


Cyber / On Line / By Electronic Means:

Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying also means electronically transmitted acts i.e., Internet, cell phone, personal digital assistance (PDA) or wireless hand-held device that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both:


By Electronic Means  or “Electronic act" means an act committed through the use of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication device, or other electronic communication device.


Violence within a dating relationship means:.

Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.


The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.


For the purposes of this definition:

Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.


Focus on the difference between caring, supportive relationships and controlling, manipulative, or abusive relationships. It is during the critical preteen and teen years that young people begin to learn the skills needed to create and foster positive relationships.


A school-sponsored activity: shall mean any activity conducted on or off school property (including school buses and other school-related vehicles) that is sponsored, recognized or authorized by the Ohio Board of Education.


Determining when a behavior constitutes a Verifiable Incident:


In evaluating whether conduct constitutes harassment, intimidation or bullying, special attention should be paid to the words chosen or the actions taken, whether such conduct occurred in front of others or was communicated to others, how the perpetrator interacted with the victim, and the motivation, either admitted or appropriately inferred.


Note:  When we report a verifiable act of bullying, harassment, or intimidation to the Board of Education, we are reporting incidents that, after investigation, rise to the level of severity explained above. 


School administrators, counselors, and other school personnel regularly intervene with or work with students regarding behaviors that are not ideal or acceptable. 


Bullying is NOT:

1) Excluding someone – It is not considered bullying if children exclude someone on the playground now and then or don’t invite someone to a party. Repeated and deliberate exclusion, however, can be bullying.


2) Disliking someone – Children may verbally or nonverbally communicate their dislike of another child. This is problematic but does not rise to the definition of bullying or harassment as long as they don’t start rumors or verbally abuse the other child.


3) Accidental physical harm – A child might unintentionally bump into or trip another child. This it is not bullying if it is not deliberate.


4) Being “bossy” – It is natural to want friends to play a certain way, and some children take the role of being the director. Learning to lead skillfully is a lifelong process, and most kids haven’t mastered it.


5) Telling a joke about someone (once) – While this is not great behavior, it is not considered bullying unless there are repeated instances. Of course we should teach our children that one single joke about someone may hurt that child’s feelings, and it’s not okay.


6) Arguments – children and young adults  argue, and arguments will inevitably happen at school.


Types of Conduct:


Harassment, intimidation or bullying can include many different behaviors including overt intent to ridicule, humiliate or intimidate another student or school personnel. 


Examples of conduct that constitutes prohibited behaviors include: