Policy Recommendations
When devising and revising policies, school districts should ensure that teams include representatives of key constituencies such as the SBO, a board member, the board lawyer, building-level administrators and teachers from several levels, a guidance counselor, a school psychologist, a professional staff member, a parent, and students, especially from the middle and secondary school level, to gain firsthand insights into their experiences.
About 19% of all students in the United States reported being victimized at schools; of these, 26.1% attended middle school (grades 6–8) and 14.6% were in high school.
Policies should:
- Include precise definitions of bullying, intimidation, harassment, and other unacceptable behaviors. Because policies mandating punishment for offenses such as acting or saying something “mean” or “hurtful” can easily be challenged and invalidated as vague or overbroad, terms must be as precise as possible so they can survive challenges and help ensure school safety.
- Educate students about the behaviors that will not be tolerated on school grounds, on property adjacent to schools, at school-sponsored and school-related events and activities on or off campuses, at bus stops, and on school buses.
- Note that off-campus behaviors may be punishable if they create hostile environments for victims, infringe on their rights, or create material and substantial disruptions to the educational process when students return to school.
- Address verbal, written, and electronic (or cyber) communications that can lead to physical acts of violence or gestures causing physical or emotional harm, damage to victims’ property, place victims in fear of harm, create hostile environments, and/or infringe on the rights of others.
- Prohibit bullying and intimidation based on race, ethnicity, national origin, socio-economic status, physical appearance, religion, gender, sexual orientation (actual or perceived), and/or disability.
- Protect bullying victims from ridicule once they file complaints. Students have committed suicide in response to being subjected to even more abuse from peers after having reported incidents to educators.
- Consistent with the disciplinary provisions in student handbooks, include substantive and procedural due process protections that (1) require students and staff to report instances of bullying and intimidation to designated school officials as soon as is reasonably possible after the bullying occurs, such as the end of a school day; (2) identify multiple persons to whom students can report bullying; (3) set time frames within which educational officials must complete bullying investigations, typically 10 school days; (4) protect the due process rights of the accused by setting deadlines by which time disciplinary processes must be completed, penalties imposed, and appeals filed and resolved; (5) keep proceedings confidential; (6) specify a range of penalties for first, second, and repeat offenses ranging from short-term suspensions to expulsions, adding that students can receive significant sanctions even on first offenses if their actions warrant such discipline; and (7) mandate the reporting of incidents to law enforcement authorities if there is evidence that bullies may have committed crimes.
- Be included in student and faculty handbooks, on board websites, and in materials sent home, and require students and parents to acknowledge in writing that they have read, understand, and agree to abide by the provisions in the handbooks.
- Mandate annual professional development opportunities for teachers and staff about bullying detection and prevention.
- Offer programs for parents and community members to help them better understand and respond to bullying.
- Provide age-appropriate instruction in school curricula addressing bullying prevention and conflict resolution.
- Develop peer-intervention programs to help students deal with bullying, including conflict resolution and mediation in and outside classrooms.
- Offer counseling to victims and their families to help overcome the effects of being bullied.
- Policies should be reviewed annually to ensure they are current with developments in state and federal law and best practices.