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gettyimages.com: Ridofranz
DA District Administration
Bullying is increasing, and in some districts could lead to lawsuits and parental fines
Schools are looking for creative approaches to stop harmful behavior among students
By: Steven Blackburn
September 19, 2019
Student bullying in schools is increasing, even though district leaders
have created anti-bullying programs to address the problem. And when
schools fail to address bullying, lawsuits and even parental fines
could result.
One in four students say they’ve been bullied, according to a report by
YouthTruth, which conducts surveys and analyzes data about bullying.
The report said that school bullying is on the rise, and that the top
three reasons students say they’ve been bullied relate to their
appearance, their race or skin color, and because other students
thought they were gay.
Other key findings by YouthTruth: majority-white schools have higher
rates of student bullying, particularly of non-white students, and
bullying is worse in middle schools than high schools.
School districts that fail to prevent student bullying can find
themselves in court. In Minnesota, families are suing Eastern Carver
County Schools for not addressing multiple cases of racial bullying,
WCCO-TV reported. The suit involves students at elementary, middle and
high schools across the district, including a 7-year-old student who
said he was punched in the face multiple times and was told he didn’t
belong, WCCO reported.
Meanwhile, a proposed ordinance in Wisconsin Rapids would require
parents of children who bully other students to pay up to $313 if
passed by the city’s Legislative Committee, as reported by the
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune. Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools
Superintendent Craig Broeren proposed the idea of an ordinance after a
student was encouraged to kill herself via social media.
Anti-bullying programs
Many districts have created successful anti-bullying programs. For
example, Bridgehampton UFSD administrators in New York have completed
three years of training from a behavior specialist through the local
Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to prevent problematic
behaviors before they occur, DA recently reported.
“We have recently entered a rebuilding phase of these programs to
ensure that we provide the best support for our students,” Literacy
Specialist and Instructional Support Team and Dignity Act Coordinator
Jessica Rodgers told DA.
One of DA’s recent Districts of Distinction honorees, Trussville City
Schools in Alabama, created the P.A.C.E. program to combat student
bullying on social media. P.A.C.E., for “Positive Attitudes Change
Everything,” includes restorative justice practices and character
education to positively remedy discipline problems, restore
self-esteem, and teach personal and digital citizenship skills. “The
P.A.C.E. program is an initiative tailor-made to meet our district
needs, and it costs nothing,” Superintendent Pattie Neill told DA.
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