Anti-Bullying
Creating a Culture of Trust: Prioritizing Safety at Imagine Groveport Community
It is the policy of the Groveport Community School that any form of harassment, intimidation, or bullying behavior whether in the classroom, on School property, to and from school, on a school bus, at school-sponsored events, or transmitted electronically, is expressly forbidden.
- Students who have been determined to have engaged in prohibited behaviors are subject to disciplinary action, which may include suspension or expulsion from school. The School’s commitment to addressing such prohibited behaviors, however, involves a multifaceted approach, which included education and promotion of a school atmosphere in which Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying will not be tolerated by students, faculty or school personnel.
- It is imperative that Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying be identified only when the specific elements of the definition are met because the designation of such prohibited incidents carry special statutory obligations. However, misconduct by one student against another student, whether or not appropriately defined will result in appropriate disciplinary consequences for the perpetrator.
Definition of Terms
A. “Harassment, intimidation, or bullying” means any of the following:
- Any intentional, written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that a student or group of students has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior that both: Causes mental or physical harm to the other student; and Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive education environment for the other student/school personnel.
- Violence in a dating relationship.
- Electronically transmitted acts committed through the use of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication device or other electronic communication device that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both;
- a. Causes mental or physical harm to the other student/school personnel; and
- b. Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive education environment for the other student/school personnel.
B. 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 whether the victim’s reaction was reasonable or foreseen under the circumstances, and perpetrator’s motivation, either admitted or appropriately inferred.
C. A School-Sponsored Event shall mean any activity conducted on or off School property (including school buses and other school-related vehicles) that is sponsored, recognized or organized by the School or on behalf of the 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 could constitute prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to:
- Physical violence and/or attacks;
- Threats, taunts and intimidation through words and/or gestures;
- Extortion, damage or stealing of money and/or possessions;
- Exclusion from the peer group or spreading rumors;
- Repetitive and hostile behavior with the intent to harm others through the use of information and communication technologies and other Web-based/online sites (also known as “cyber bullying”), such as the following:
- Posting slurs on Web sites where students congregate or on Web logs (personal online journals or diaries);
- Sending abusive or threatening instant messages or email;
- Using camera phones to take embarrassing photographs of students and posting them online or sending them to third parties; and,
- Using Web sites to circulate gossip and rumors to other students; and
- Excluding others from an online group by falsely reporting them for inappropriate language to Internet service providers.
Publication of Policy
A. Publication of the prohibition against Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying and related procedures.
- The prohibition against Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying shall be publicized in any student handbooks and in any publications that set forth the comprehensive rules, procedures and standards of conduct for the schools and students in the school. In addition, information regarding the policy shall be incorporated into employee training materials.
- The school shall send a written statement describing the policy and the consequences for violations of the policy to each student’s custodial parent or guardian once each school year. The statement may be delivered electronically.
Complaints
A. Written Complaints:
- Students and/or their parents or guardians may file reports regarding suspected Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying.
- Such written reports shall be reasonably specific including person(s) involved, number of times and places of the alleged conduct, the target of suspected Harassment, Intimidation and/or Bullying, and the names of any potential student or staff witnesses.
- Such reports may be filed with any school staff member or administrator, and they shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal for review and action in accordance with section 6.
B. Verbal Complaints:
- Students, parents or guardians and school personnel may make verbal complaints of conduct that they consider to be Harassment, Intimidation and/or Bullying by verbal report to a teacher, school administrator, or other school personnel.
- Such verbal complaints shall be reasonably specific as to the actions giving rise to the suspicion of Harassment, Intimidation and/or Bullying, including person(s) involved, number of times and places of the alleged conduct, the target of the prohibited behavior(s), and the names of any potential student or staff witness.
- A school staff member or administrator who receives a verbal complaint shall promptly document the complaint in writing, including the above information.
- This written report by the school staff member and/or administrator shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal for review and action in accordance with section 6.
C. Protection of Person Filing Complaint:
- Students Individuals who make complaints as set forth above may request that their name be maintained in confidence by the school staff member(s) and administrator(s) who receive the complaint.
- The complaints shall be reviewed and reasonable action will be taken to address the situation, to the extent such action may be taken that
- does not disclose the source of the complaint, and
- is consistent with the due process rights of the student(s) alleged to have committed acts of Harassment, Intimidation and/or Bullying.
D. False Complaint:
- It is a violation of this policy and procedure to knowingly report false allegations of Harassment, Intimidation, and/or Bullying.
- Persons found to knowingly report or corroborate false allegations will be subject to appropriate discipline.
School Personnel Responsibilities
A. Teachers and Other School Staff
- Teachers and other school staff, who witness acts of Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying, as defined above, shall promptly notify the building principal and/or his/her designee of the event observed, and shall promptly file a written, incident report concerning the events witnessed.
- Teachers and other school staff who receive student or parent reports of suspected Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying shall promptly notify the building principal and/or his/her designee of such report(s).
- If the report is a formal, written complaint, such complaint shall be forwarded promptly to the building principal or his/her designee.
- If the report is a verbal informal complaint by a student that is received by a teacher or other professional employee, he or she shall prepare a written report of the informal verbal complaint which shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal or his/her designee.
- In addition to addressing both written and verbal complaints, school personnel are encouraged to address the issue of Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying in other interactions with students. School personnel may find opportunities to educate students about Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying and help eliminate such prohibited behaviors through class discussions, counseling, and reinforcement of socially appropriate behavior.
- School personnel should intervene promptly whenever they observe student conduct that has the purpose or effect of ridiculing, humiliating or intimidating another student/school personnel, even if such conduct does not meet the formal definition of “Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying.”
B. Administrator Responsibilities
- Investigation
- The principal and or his/her designee shall be promptly notified of any formal written or verbal complaint of suspected Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying.
- Under the direction of the building principal or his/her designee, all such complaints shall be investigated promptly.
- A written report of the investigation shall be prepared when the investigation is complete.
- Such report shall include findings of fact, a determination of whether the acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying were verified, and when prohibited acts are verified, a recommendation for intervention, including disciplinary action shall be included in the report. Where appropriate, written witness statements shall be attached to the report.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a student making a verbal complaint has requested anonymity, the investigation of such complaint shall be limited as is appropriate in view of the anonymity of the complaint.
- Such limitation of investigation may include restricting action to a simple review of the complaint (with or without discussing it with the alleged perpetrator), subject to receipt of further information and/or the withdrawal by the complaining student of the condition that his/her report be anonymous.
- Remedial Actions
- Verified acts of Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying shall result in an intervention by the building principal or his/her designee that is intended to ensure that the prohibition against Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying behavior is enforced, with the goal that any such prohibited behavior will cease.
- Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying behavior can take many forms and can vary dramatically in seriousness and impact on the targeted individual and other students.
- Accordingly, there is no one prescribed response to verified acts of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying.
- While conduct that rises to the level of “Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying,” as defined above will generally warrant disciplinary action against the perpetrator of such prohibited behaviors whether and to what extent to impose disciplinary action (detention, in and out-of-school suspension; or expulsion) is a matter for the professional discretion of the building principal.
Reporting Obligations
A. Report to the Parent or Guardian of the Perpetrator
- If after investigation, acts of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying by a specific student are verified, the building principal or his/her designee shall notify in writing the parent or guardian of the perpetrator of that finding.
- If disciplinary consequences are imposed against such student, a description of such discipline shall be included in such notification.
B. Reports to the victim and his/her parent of guardian
- If after investigation, acts of bullying against a specific student are verified, the building principal or his/her designee shall notify the parent or guardian of the victim of such finding. In providing such notification, care must be taken to respect the statutory privacy rights of the perpetrator of such Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying.
C. List of verified acts of Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying.
- A requirement that the district School administrators semiannually provide the Board of Directors of the school, a written summary of all reported incidents that have been investigated and found to have merit. The list shall be limited to the number of verified acts of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying, whether in the classroom, on School property, to and from school, or at school sponsored events.
- This policy shall not be interpreted to prohibit a reasonable and civil exchange of opinions or debate that is conducted at appropriate times and places and is protected by State or Federal Law.
Police and Child Protective Services
A. Allegations of criminal misconduct will be reported to law enforcement, and Suspected child abuse must be reported to Child Protective Services, per required timelines.
B. The School must also investigate for the purpose of determining whether there has been a violation of the School Policy or Procedure, even if law enforcement or CPS is also investigating.
C. All School personnel must cooperate with investigations by outside agencies.
Training
A. The School agrees to provide appropriate staff training in the implementation of the above policy and prevention of harassment, intimidation and bullying in the School.