FULLERTON UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
What are the facts about bullying? GLSEN: The 2011 National School Climate Survey
• It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.
•
American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7
million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.
• One in seven students is either a bully or victim.
• Fifteen percent of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
• Seventy-one percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
•
Nearly eight in ten students who identify as LGBT report being verbally
harassed at school. Because of feeling unsafe, 32.7 percent report
missing a day of school.
• In one study by “Fight Crime: Invest
in Kids,” nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as
bullies in grades six to nine were convicted of at least one crime by
the age of 24, while 40 percent had three or more convictions.
What are the facts about cyberbullying? GLSEN: The 2011 National School Climate Survey
•
One in four teens in a relationship (25%) say they have been called
names, harassed, or put down by their partner through cell phones and
texting. Only 20 percent informed a parent or another adult.
•
Forty-three percent of youth report that they have experienced some form
of cyber-bullying in the last year. The incidence of cyberbullying is
most prevalent among 15- and 16-year-olds, particularly among girls.
•
Teen cyber-bullying victims are twice as likely to talk to a friend
about a bullying incident as to talk with their parents or another
adult.
How do students and teachers perceive bullying? GLSEN: The 2011 National School Climate Survey
•
Two-thirds of persons affected felt that staff responded poorly when
they reported bullying. Only six percent believed the report was handled
very well.
• Seventy percent of teachers believe that adults intervene almost all the time, while only 25 percent of students agreed.
•
Among ninth-grade students, only 35 percent believed their teachers
were interested in trying to stop bullying (only 25 percent for
Administrators).
• Though 80 percent of middle school students
“felt” sorry for victims of bullying, 64 percent said that other
students try to prevent bullying only “once in a while” or never.
What California laws protect students from bullying?
1985: School Safety Demonstration Act
Established
the School/Law Enforcement Partnership comprised of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction and the Attorney General for the development and
administration of safe school program partnership was established in
1985 in an effort to make schools safer and reduce hate crimes.
2001: AB79
Requires
the Department of Education to develop model policies on the prevention
of bullying and conflict resolution, makes the model policies available
to school districts, and authorizes school districts to adopt one or
both policies for incorporation into the school safety plan.
2001: SB257
Specifies
that, for school and law enforcement partnership purposes, school crime
includes hate crimes and requires the comprehensive school safety plan
to include development of a discrimination and harassment policy, as
specified, and development of hate crime reporting procedures.
2003: SB719
The
Bullying Prevention for School Safety and Crime Reduction Act updated
and enhanced 1985 School Safety Act. “The Legislature finds and declares
…The children of this state have the right to an effective public
school education. Both students and staff of… school campuses have the
constitutional right to be safe and secure in their persons at school.
It is the intent of the Legislature that all California public
schools,…develop a comprehensive school safety plan that addresses the
safety concerns identified through a systematic planning process.”
2007: AB 394
The
Safe Place to Learn Act, provides protection for youth in schools,
including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
(LGBT). It strengthens the state’s ability to keep schools safe and
fight bias and harassment in schools by requiring the California
Department of Education to monitor school compliance with the state’s
existing anti-bias laws. AB 394 guides school districts in adopting and
publicizing anti-harassment policies and complaint procedures, updating
publications on school safety and discrimination, keeping records of
complaints and how they were resolved, and providing training for
teachers on how to maintain a safe learning environment for all
students.
2008: AB 86
This was one of the first laws in the
country to deal directly with cyber-bullying. The legislation added
“bullying committed by means of an electronic communication device” to
the mandate of the School/Law Enforcement Partnership and gave school
administrators the authority to discipline students for bullying others
offline or online.
2011: AB 9 (Seth’s Law)
Although
California has adopted anti-bullying legislation, LGBT youth are still
subject to harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Seth’s Law tightens
anti-bullying policies in California schools by ensuring that all
schools have clear and consistent policies and by establishing timelines
for investigating claims of bullying. AB 9 will help create a
respectful and safe environment for all students. Seth’s Law
specifically contains the following requirement: “If school personnel
witness an act of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying,
he or she shall take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so.”
(Education Code Section 234.1(b)(1))
California Education Code: Bullying/Harassment
Education
Code 48900 (2008) permits a student to be suspended from school or
recommended for expulsion for engaging in acts of bullying.
AB 1729 Amends 48900 (2012) now requires an alternative discipline.
Education
Code 48900.4 (2008) allows a student to be suspended or recommended for
expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which
the student is enrolled determines that the student has intentionally
engaged in harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed against school
district personnel or pupils “that is sufficiently severe or pervasive
to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially
disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the
rights of either school personnel or pupils by creating an intimidating
or hostile educational environment.”
Education Code 48900.2
(2008) permits a student to be suspended from school or recommended for
expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which
the student is enrolled determines that the student has committed sexual
harassment, as defined in Education Code 212.5.
Cyber Bullying
Education
Code 48900 (2008) permits a student to be suspended from school or
recommended for expulsion for engaging in acts of bullying, including
bullying committed by means of electronic acts.
Education Code
32261 (no date available) defines “electronic act” as “the transmission
of a communication, including but not limited to, a message, text,
sound, or image by means of an electronic device, including but not
limited to a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless
communication device, computer, or pager.”
Additional References
See “Bullying and Hate-Motivated Behavior Prevention” published by the California Department of Education.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/se/bullyingprev.asp
See “Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies – December 2011” (U.S. Department of Education).
http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/bullying/state-bullying-laws/state-bullying-laws.pdf
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
http://www.aclu.org/
http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/lgbt-youth-schools
http://www.ochumanrelations.org/
http://www.ochumanrelations.org/programs/bridges/bullying-resources-and-information/