3. INTRODUCTION
In public schools, bullying has raised
some concerns.
Bullying can be displayed in many
different forms. In addition to bullies
being physical, verbal acts of bullying
intended to intimidate, harass, and
create fear may occur.
The act of bullying is often repeated and
if not handled can create a hostile school
environment.
4. OBJECTIVE
Analyze current discrimination police
Analyze
Raise awareness of the warning signs of the
act of bullying
Raise
Provide training programs for Educators,
students and parents on how to deal with
bullying and its effects.
Provide
Encourage reporting by all stakeholder and
remind educators of they legal duty.
Encourage
5. PROPOSED OUTCOMES
List specific examples of what
deems as discrimination.
1
Update the current policy
that has not been revised
since 2014.
2
Hire a district liaison to work
directly with military families
to assist families in school
registration.
3
6. PROPOSED OUTCOMES
Update the current policy that
has not been revised since
2014. List specific examples of
what deems as discrimination.
1
Recruit qualified Special
Education teachers.
2
Hire a district liaison to work
directly with military families to
assist families in school
registration.
3
7. DEFINITIONS
Bullying is defined as follows: An act that is:
• Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on
another person, when accompanied by an apparent
present ability to do so;
• Any intentional display of force such as would give
the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily
harm; or
• Any intentional written, verbal, or physical act, which
a reasonable person would perceive as being
intended to threaten, harass
8. DEFINITIONS
CONT.
Tort
• Is an actionable or civil wrong committed against
one person by another independent of contract.
GaDOE
• Georgia Department of Education
9. CONSEQUENCES
Violation of bullying Georgia State Law policy can
result in litigation against the school.
Violation of the Griffin Spaulding School Distract
bullying policy will result in consequences through
the progressive discipline process
Violation of the bullying policy due to neglecting
legal duty can result in termination of employment.
10. REPORTING PROCESS
01
Submit
•Candidates will
need to submit
all bullying
policy
amendments to
Griffin Spalding
School district
office.
02
Include
•Griffin Spalding
School district
will include the
candidates
request as part
of the next
school board
meeting agenda.
03
Attend
•Candidate will
attend the next
school board
and speak to
support
amendment if
necessary .
04
Vote on
•School board
members will
vote on
amendment.
05
Sign
•If Changed, the
Superintendent
will sign, and
policy will be
added to the
Griffin Spalding
School district's
bullying policy.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
11. DISTRICT SUPPORT
NEEDED
SUPPORT IS NEEDED
IN:
PROVING FUNDING
FOR PREVENTION
AND INTERVENTION
PROGRAMS.
ENCOURAGE
STAKEHOLDERS TO
REPORT ( TEACHERS,
PARENTS&
STUDENTS).
MONITORING
SCHOOL
ADMINISTRATION
DATA REPORTING.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
14. LITERATURE REVIEW CONT.
• Is Fidelity of Implementation of an Anti-
Bullying Policy Related to Student Bullying and
Teacher Protection of Students? Hall, W. J., &
Dawes, H. C. (2019).
18. LITERATURE REVIEW CONT.
• Is Fidelity of Implementation of an Anti-
Bullying Policy Related to Student Bullying and
Teacher Protection of Students? Hall, W. J., &
Dawes, H. C. (2019).
19. LITERATURE REVIEW CONT.
• School law and the public schools: A practical guide
for educational leaders(6th ed.) Essex, N. L. (2016).
20. LITERATURE REVIEW CONT.
• School law and the public schools: A practical guide
for educational leaders(6th ed.) Essex, N. L. (2016).
21. CASE LAW REVIEW CONT.
Kowalski v.
Berkeley County
Schools (2011)
United States v.
Drew, 08-CR-582
(2006)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
22. CASE LAW REVIEW CONT.
Kowalski v.
Berkeley County
Schools (2011)
United States v.
Drew, 08-CR-582
(2006)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
23. CONCLUSIONS DRAW FROM
LITERATURE
Bullying has been defined as unwanted aggressive
behaviors enacted intentionally over time by a student or
group of students using some form of power to cause
physical and/or psychological harm to another student in
a school setting.
Professional educators have three legal duties while
children are in their care.
In 1999 50 states passed anti-bullying laws.
There is currently no federal laws against school bullying
in the United States.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
24. CONCLUSIONS DRAW FROM
COLLABORATION
• Griffin Spalding School district’s
bullying policies are clear.
• Guidelines for reporting are uncertain.
• Prevention and Intervention training
are needed.
• Anti- bullying polices not enforced.
• Protection provided for victims
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
26. CONCLUSIO
NS DRAW
FROM DATA
CONT.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Rehoboth Middle School 846
students
Spaulding High school ( 1,078
Students)
Do you agree or disagree with how your
school maintained bullying on campus?
Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree
This Photo by Unknown Author
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
27. DISTRICT TRANSPARENCY CONCERNING REPORTED
BULLYING DATA.
ANNUALLY REMINDERS OF THE STATES DEFINITION OF
BULLYING TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
PROVIDE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR
EDUCATORS, PARENTS AND STUDENTS.
ENFORCE CURRENT POLICIES . This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
28. REFERENCES
• 45th anniversary of the individuals with disabilities education act. (2020). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-45-years-later/
• Barrett, C. A., Stevenson, N. A., & Burns, M. K. (2019). Relationship between disability category, time spent in general
education and academic achievement. Educational Studies, 46(4), 497–512.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2019.1614433
• Bolourian, Y., Tipton-Fisler, L., & Yassine, J. (2018). Special education placement trends: Least restrictive
environment across five years in California. Contemporary School Psychology, 24(2), 164–173.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-018-00214-z
• Digest of Education Statistics. (2019). National Center for Education Statistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_204.30.asp
29. REFERENCES (CONTINUED)
• Essex, N. L. (2016). School law and the public schools: a practical guide for educational leaders (6th ed.). Pearson
Education (US).
• Kurth, J. A., Ruppar, A. L., Toews, S., McCabe, K. M., McQueston, J. A., & Johnston, R. (2019). Considerations in
placement decisions for students with extensive support needs: An analysis of lre statements. Research and Practice
for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 44(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796918825479
• Mead, J. F. (n.d.). MILLS V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. EDUCATION LAW.
https://www.usedulaw.com/438-mills-v-board-of-education-of-the-district-of-columbia.html
• Morningstar, M. E., Kurth, J. A., & Johnson, P. E. (2016). Examining national trends in educational placements for
students with significant disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 38(1), 3–12.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932516678327
30. REFERENCES (CONTINUED)
Oberti v. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon. (2019). THE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER.
http://www.pubintlaw.org/cases-and-projects/oberti-v-board-of-education-of-the-borough-of-clementon/
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (n.d.). IDEA.
https://idea302.weebly.com/court-case.html
Policy details - Hillsborough County Public Schools. (2014). Hillsborough County Public Schools.
https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/policymanual/detail/421
Technical assistance paper - least restrictive environment considerations related to individual educational plans [PDF].
(2016, January 15). FLORIDA DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION.
https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-7540/dps-2016-13.pdf
31. REFERENCES (CONTINUED)
• The condition of education 2020 [PDF]. (2020). NATIONAL CENTER for EDUCATION STATISTICS.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020144.pdf
• Williamson, P., Hoppey, D., McLeskey, J., Bergmann, E., & Moore, H. (2019). Trends in LRE placement rates
over the past 25 years. The Journal of Special Education, 53(4), 236–244.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466919855052
Editor's Notes
In public schools, bullying has raised some concerns. Bullying can be displayed in many different forms. In addition to bullies being physical, verbal acts of bullying intended to intimidate, harass, and create fear may occur. The act of bullying is often repeated and if not handled can create a hostile school environment (Essex, 2016). According to Essex, a large percentage of students who were bullied reported that the incident happened in unsupervised areas such as the school hallways and stairwells (2016).
The proposed outcomes is essential for Griffin Spalding County Schools to provide a solid policy in place regarding accountability ,reporting, and students well being. This policy would provide a safer learning environment and involves all the stakeholders.
The proposed outcomes is essential for Griffin Spalding County Schools to provide a solid policy in place regarding accountability ,reporting, and students well being. This policy would provide a safer learning environment and involves all the stakeholders.
The Griffin-Spalding County School System believes that all students can learn better in a safe school environment. Behavior that infringes on the safety of students will not be tolerated. Bullying, as the term is defined in Georgia law, of a student by another student is
strictly prohibited. Such prohibition shall be included in the Student Code of Conduct for all schools within the school system.
When legally imposed duty is violate by and educator and a student is injured as the result the act of tort has been committed(Essex,2011).
The district enforcements are presented as fair and consistent. According to Griffin-Spalding County School, “Acts of bullying shall be punished by a range of consequences through the progressive discipline process as stated in the Code of Conduct” (n.d.). The progressive discipline consist of 4 levels and includes a “Unsafe School Choice Plan”. Moreover, students enrolled in grades 6th 12th who have been disciplined for bullying for the third time will be assigned to an alternative school as a result. The policy encourages students, teachers, and parents to report any forms of bullying.
Furthermore, it is important that all school personnel understand what their responsibilities are to protect the well being of all the students under their care. In the Hosemann v Oakland Unified School District (1989), case the court “affirmative duty to alleviate crime and violence on school campuses and that students have a constitutional right to be protected” (Essex, 2011, p.194).
For policy to be created or amended it must go through a process. The candidate should discuss the finding with the school's administrators and staff in faculty meeting. Other stakeholder such as parents and students should also be informed of the candidates finding at the next PTO meeting. Moreover, they would be encouraged to participate in reporting policy changes and amendments. The candidates will proceed to go through the proper protocol to submit policy amendments to Griffin Spalding School district office. The amendments will be presented at the school meeting and superintendent will determine the outcome.
The support of the district will provided accountability through out the district. Providing programs for intervention and prevention will discourage the act of bullying . Encouraging stakeholders and school staff to report will protect both the victims from continual harm and school personnel being held liable of negligence.
Students who are bullies typically use their stature and popularity to frighten or hurt their victims. Studies have indicated that bullies often come from homes where physical punishment is used and are students who have poor social problem-solving skills .
Educational institutions are supposed to be a place where students and teachers learn in a safe environment . Furthermore,” the prevailing view held by the courts is that prudent professional educators are supervising students under their care and ensuring, to the greatest extent possible, that these students are safe” (Essex, 2011, p.194). This doctrine assures parents that while in the supervision of the school the professional educators will keep them safe. Professional educators have three legal duties while children are in their care. These legal duties consist of instructions, supervising, and provide for the safety of their students .
Essex argues that there is an issue with teachers in public school not taking bullying seriously and studies show that 25 percent of educators do not see anything wrong with bullying. Moreover, about 4 percent of those educators’ step in while witnessing a student being bullied.
If students are injured under the supervision of the school, school districts and school personnel may be liable for tortious acts. When educators violate a legal duty and it results in the student being injured, they have committed a tort.
Journalist Deb Belt interviewed Cyberbullying Research Center’s co-director, Justin Patchin. Justin shared his disappointment in his home state of Wisconsin's lack of legislation concerning cyber-bullying. He also suggested that schools lack money to implement laws. According to Belt “The problem with most anti-bullying laws, is that once they're on the books, schools don’t have ready cash to implement them, and the costs can be significant” (Belt,2019, para.19). Furthermore, as a result of New Jersey being sued for its unfunded mandate for anti-bullying policies, lawmakers appropriated $1 million across the entire state.
According to Hall and Dawes, there are currently no federal laws against school bullying in the United States. However in 1999 after the shootings, at Columbine High School occurred 50 states passed anti-bullying laws. The law was applied to protect PreK-12 grade public school students from being involved in bullying . A recent study indicated a mixed result of the effectiveness of policy intervention. In many of the cases, having an anti-bullying policy lowered the accounts of bullying and victimization. Another set of studies indicated that the policy did not affect. However, some studies suggested that teachers were more likely to intervene if an anti-bullying policy is in place.
Journalist Deb Belt interviewed Cyberbullying Research Center’s co-director, Justin Patchin. Justin shared his disappointment in his home state of Wisconsin's lack of legislation concerning cyber-bullying. He also suggested that schools lack money to implement laws. According to Belt “The problem with most anti-bullying laws, is that once they're on the books, schools don’t have ready cash to implement them, and the costs can be significant” (Belt,2019, para.19). Furthermore, as a result of New Jersey being sued for its unfunded mandate for anti-bullying policies, lawmakers appropriated $1 million across the entire state.
Journalist Deb Belt interviewed Cyberbullying Research Center’s co-director, Justin Patchin. Justin shared his disappointment in his home state of Wisconsin's lack of legislation concerning cyber-bullying. He also suggested that schools lack money to implement laws. According to Belt “The problem with most anti-bullying laws, is that once they're on the books, schools don’t have ready cash to implement them, and the costs can be significant” (Belt,2019, para.19). Furthermore, as a result of New Jersey being sued for its unfunded mandate for anti-bullying policies, lawmakers appropriated $1 million across the entire state.
Journalist Deb Belt interviewed Cyberbullying Research Center’s co-director, Justin Patchin. Justin shared his disappointment in his home state of Wisconsin's lack of legislation concerning cyber-bullying. He also suggested that schools lack money to implement laws. According to Belt “The problem with most anti-bullying laws, is that once they're on the books, schools don’t have ready cash to implement them, and the costs can be significant” (Belt,2019, para.19). Furthermore, as a result of New Jersey being sued for its unfunded mandate for anti-bullying policies, lawmakers appropriated $1 million across the entire state.
According to Hall and Dawes, there are currently no federal laws against school bullying in the United States. However in 1999 after the shootings, at Columbine High School occurred 50 states passed anti-bullying laws. The law was applied to protect PreK-12 grade public school students from being involved in bullying . A recent study indicated a mixed result of the effectiveness of policy intervention. In many of the cases, having an anti-bullying policy lowered the accounts of bullying and victimization. Another set of studies indicated that the policy did not affect. However, some studies suggested that teachers were more likely to intervene if an anti-bullying policy is in place.
The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act was established as the result of cyberbullying. Meagan Meier’s classmate and mother bullied Megan using a fabricated MySpace account as a result she committed suicide.
The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act was established as the result of cyberbullying. Meagan Meier’s classmate and mother bullied Megan using a fabricated MySpace account as a result she committed suicide.
The last two cases established policies for cyber-bullying.
In the Case Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools (2011), A Berkeley County School student Kara Kowalski sued the county stating that her high school Musselman violated her first amendment when they suspended her for a MySpace post. Miss Kowalski created a Myspace page called “S.A.S.H.”. Kowalski claims stood for "Students Against Sluts Herpes" United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). However, another student who also was enrolled at Musselman High School stated that the S.A.S.H acronym stood for "Students Against Shay's Herpes," which referred to a young lady who was also a Musselman student. As a result, the school suspended her for five days. The plaintiff argued that the school’s action violated her due process rights and her freedom of speech under the first and fourteenth amendments. She also claims that the school district had no right to regulate her speech since it was not a “school-related activity” (United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). The courts ruled in favor of the School District and the Plaintiff’s first and fourteenth amendments were not violated. This ruling was based on Miss Kowalski created the post” for the purpose of inviting others to indulge in disruptive and hateful conduct," which caused an "in-school disruption"(United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. was used in reference to this decision.
In United States v. Drew, 08-CR-582 (2006) the defendant Lori Drew and her daughter created the fake MySpace profile to lure Ms. Drew’s daughter classmat3e Megan Meier. The defendants invited Meier and began flirting with her for several days. On October 16, 2009, under the fictional profile, the defendants told “Megan that he no longer liked her and that “the world would be a better place without her in it.” Moreover, the defendants reached out to Meier’s friends to communicate negative things about her. As a result, Megan Meier killed herself (Sun, n.d.).As a result, the defendant was charged with “three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)” (Sun, n.d.). The jury initially founders the Drew guilty of the lesser charge of misdemeanor CFAA. In 2009 Drew was eventually acquitted of all charges (Sun, n.d.). However, this case laid the framework of the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act which would allow Cyberbullies to be criminally charged. (Essex,2016).
The last two cases established policies for cyber-bullying.
In the Case Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools (2011), A Berkeley County School student Kara Kowalski sued the county stating that her high school Musselman violated her first amendment when they suspended her for a MySpace post. Miss Kowalski created a Myspace page called “S.A.S.H.”. Kowalski claims stood for "Students Against Sluts Herpes" United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). However, another student who also was enrolled at Musselman High School stated that the S.A.S.H acronym stood for "Students Against Shay's Herpes," which referred to a young lady who was also a Musselman student. As a result, the school suspended her for five days. The plaintiff argued that the school’s action violated her due process rights and her freedom of speech under the first and fourteenth amendments. She also claims that the school district had no right to regulate her speech since it was not a “school-related activity” (United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). The courts ruled in favor of the School District and the Plaintiff’s first and fourteenth amendments were not violated. This ruling was based on Miss Kowalski created the post” for the purpose of inviting others to indulge in disruptive and hateful conduct," which caused an "in-school disruption"(United States Court of Appeals, n.d.). Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. was used in reference to this decision.
In United States v. Drew, 08-CR-582 (2006) the defendant Lori Drew and her daughter created the fake MySpace profile to lure Ms. Drew’s daughter classmat3e Megan Meier. The defendants invited Meier and began flirting with her for several days. On October 16, 2009, under the fictional profile, the defendants told “Megan that he no longer liked her and that “the world would be a better place without her in it.” Moreover, the defendants reached out to Meier’s friends to communicate negative things about her. As a result, Megan Meier killed herself (Sun, n.d.).As a result, the defendant was charged with “three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)” (Sun, n.d.). The jury initially founders the Drew guilty of the lesser charge of misdemeanor CFAA. In 2009 Drew was eventually acquitted of all charges (Sun, n.d.). However, this case laid the framework of the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act which would allow Cyberbullies to be criminally charged. (Essex,2016).
In conclusion, this review provides some indication of how cases have affected the current policies and laws. This literature brings about awareness of the potential consequence of School districts and personnel commit acts of tort. Educators violating their legal duty can result in families file a lawsuit. These cases and related literature presents students’ constitutional rights to be protected when bullied. Furthermore, this literature and case review strengthens the case for school to develop and enforce anti- bullying policies.
After reviewing Griffin-Spalding County School’s data and speaking with a parent and educator of the district, it was agreed that their were some inconsistency between policy and enforcement. As a teacher, some of her concerns were the lack of administration reporting acts of bullying and teaching training. The GaDOE supports this theory of school leaders not accurately reporting. The GaDOE informs parents if their school has a reputation of bullying and the GaDOE does not show any record of the accounts, their school is not reporting it.
Furthermore, as a parent, there is a desired to see more protection for the student who is the victim. The stakeholder also provided a personal account of her daughter reported being bullied, the student was suspended. However, verbal abuse increased, and the administration fails to act. She withdrew her daughter and begin homeschooling as a result.
According to the GaDOE, Schools are mandated to report bullying. Students are given an anonymous Georgia Student Health Survey each year. When observing the elementary survey only grades 3rd through 5th surveys. furthermore, unlike the middle and high school surveys, they do not use the word bullying. Their survey consists of three categories under the title "Peer Victims". Students were asked ". How often in the past couple of months have kids picked on you by (a) hitting or kicking you, (b) spread rumors about you, and (c) threaten you (Georgia Department of Education, n.d.)?
Futral Elementary surveyed 290 students in grades 3rd through 5th. 49 students reported that were hit or kicked, 40 had rumors spread about them and 44 threatened in the past couple of months.
Under the title "Physical Environment" Middle and High school students were asked in which degree did they agree or disagree with how well their school-maintained bullying on campus. Students attending the largest middle in the county Rehoboth reported that 81 students strongly disagreed and 204 strongly agreed out of 846. 484 Students attending Spaulding High school reported as saying they disagree and 594 agreed out of 1,078 students with how well the bullying was maintenance (Georgia Department of Education, n.d.).
All 18 of the schools in the county could use some improvement. The data shows that the elementary schools have a better handle of the issue while the middle and high school campuses are struggling. Moreover, upon further review of all the schools in the county boys in grades 3rd through 5th were more likely to be bullied than girls and in the middle and high schools, grades girls are the most dissatisfied with how the administration handles acts of bullying(Georgia Department of Education, n.d.).
The first and essential recommendation is for Griffin-Spalding County School to be transparent with schools within the district, parents, and community leaders about the current data concerning bullying. Griffin-Spalding County School has a solid anti-bullying process and consequence. The issue is the execution of school leaders and staff. The data and parent testimony suggest that incidents are not being reported to the State (Bullying at School, n.d.).
The next recommendation is to provide school staff, students, and parents with information on what the State define as bullying and its prevention policies. This should be applied to all the schools in the district. Next, teachers are trained through a bullying prevention program during pre-planning. This training should consist of the teacher’s understanding of their legal duty and liability to properly protect and report. Teachers should be made aware of the areas where most bullying cases occur such as hallways, stairways, and restrooms. Furthermore, teachers encouraging their students to stand up to offenders by reporting acts of bullying can be and effective bullying prevention method (Bullying at School, n.d.).
Finally provide training for parents through the PTO and hold them accountable for their actions. Also, allow a platform or them to give feedback on how to improve current anti-bullying policies. The reinforcement of current policy and holding all parties accountable, the recommendations above will improve the protection and welfare of the students and staff apart affiliated with Griffin-Spalding County School district.
