RICHMOND – Beginning in July 2014, each school board in Virginia must include in its student code of conduct a prohibition against bullying, including cyberbullying. Moreover, school divisions must educate teachers and other employees about bullying and “the need to create a bully-free environment.
Those requirements are contained in legislation that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law last month. The legislation is House Bill 1871, introduced by Delegate Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond. It easily passed the House and Senate in February.
The bill seeks to crack down on bullying by children. Among other things, it provides a definition of bullying:
“‘Bullying’ means any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. ‘Bullying’ includes cyber bullying. ‘Bullying’ does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument, or peer conflict.”
The new law says every school board’s student conduct code must include policies and procedures that prohibit bullying.
“Such policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, material disruption of the work of the school,” the law states.
[stextbox id=”news-sidebar” caption=”What the legislative report says” float=”true” align=”right” bwidth=”0″]You can read the Virginia Department of Education’s study on bullying by clicking here.
Among other things, the report says:
· Between 15 and 25 percent of U.S. students are “bullied with some frequency,” studies have found.
· Bullying in school leads to lower academic achievement, higher dropout rates and increased school absenteeism – not only among the students being bullied but also among bystanders. Bullying also affects students’ health.
· About one-third of Virginia’s school districts currently have a comprehensive definition of bullying, which covers both physical and emotional harassment.It also requires the Virginia Board of Education to provide local districts examples of bullying, ways to recognize bullying and methods to provide a bully-free environment.[/stextbox]
Beginning with the 2005 school year, school boards were required to put anti-bullying regulations into their student codes of conduct. After a few years, officials determined that that language alone may not be as effective as they had hoped in discouraging bullying.
In 2012, the Virginia Department of Education presented to the General Assembly a study on the effectiveness of the 2005 regulations. The study recommended a “model anti-bullying policy” that will now be put in place for the 2014-15 school year.
Many local school systems, including those in the Historic Triangle, have already incorporated policies against bullying and cyberbullying in their codes of conduct.
Williamsburg James City County’s Code of Conduct describes bullying as “intentional repeated oppression, physical or psychological, including through electronic means, which over time inflicts or threatens to inflict physical or emotional injury or discomfort upon another person’s body, feelings or possessions. Bullying may be overt or covert.”
Cyberbullying includes, but is not limited to, using e-mail, cell phones, pagers, text messages, instant messaging, personal websites and online personal polling sites to support “deliberate, hostile behavior intended to harm others.” Cyberbullying occurring on school property or at school-related activities “will not be tolerated,” according to the WJCC policy. WJCC also will take disciplinary action in cases of cyberbullying occurring off of school grounds if it could threaten school operations, safety or well-being of students or staff, or the safety of school buildings or property.
York County’s policy states bullying may include, but is not limited to, physical intimidation, taunting, name calling, insults, falsifying statements about other persons and/or comments regarding the race, gender, religion, physical abilities or characteristics of associates of the targeted person. The division updated its policy last year for the 2012-13 Code of Conduct.
Cyberbullying is defined as using information and communication technologies to support “deliberate, hostile behavior intended to harm others.” For any students committing bullying or cyberbullying, the consequences range from a student and/or parent conference to a short-term suspension of one to 10 days.
