STUDENTS RESOURCES

ANTI-BULLYING AND CIVILITY POLICY 

The Stone Corral School Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to promote and maintain a healthy, safe, orderly, and caring learning environment for students to learn and achieve high academic standards.  Harassment or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its students in a safe environment.  Demonstration of appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment or bullying is expected of administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members. 

“Harassment or bullying” is any gesture or written, verbal, graphic, or physical act (including electronically transmitted acts – i.e. internet, cell phone, or wireless hand held device) that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression; or a mental, physical, or sensory disability or impairment; or by any other distinguishing characteristic.  

Specific acts of bullying may include but are not limited to name calling, teasing, physical abuse, (e.g., hitting, pushing, pinching, or kicking), threats, taking of personal possessions, sending abusive text messages, instant messages, internet e-mails, and phone messages, forcing others to hand over money, forcing others to do things against one’s will, ignoring or leaving others out, attacking others in any way. 

Such behavior is considered harassment or bullying whether it takes place on or off school property including but not limited to: 

• any school building or on any school premises before, during or after school hours;
• on any bus or other vehicle as part of any school activity;
• waiting at any bus stop;
• any school function, extracurricular activity or other activity or event;
• and any time or place when the behavior has a direct and immediate effect on maintaining order and discipline in the schools.

Harassment/Bullying is conduct that meets all of the following criteria: 

• is directed at one or more pupils
• substantially interferes with educational opportunities, benefits, or programs of one or more pupils;
• adversely affects the ability of a pupil to participate in or benefit from the school district’s educational programs or activities because the conduct, as reasonably perceived by the pupil, is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive as to have this effect; and,
• is based on a pupil’s actual or perceived distinguishing characteristic (see above), or is based on an association with another person who has or is perceived to have any of these characteristics.

The Stone Corral School District Board of Education expects administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members to conduct themselves in a manner in keeping with their levels of development, maturity, and demonstrated capabilities with a proper regard for the rights and welfare of other students, school staff, and volunteers. 

The Stone Corral School District Board of Education believes that standards for student behavior must be set cooperatively through interaction among the administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parents, guardians, and other community members of the school district, producing an atmosphere that encourages students to grow in empathy, anger management, and problem solving.  The development of this atmosphere requires respect for self and others, as well as for district and community property on the part of students, staff, and community members. 

The Stone Corral School Board of Education believes that the best discipline is self-imposed, and that it is the responsibility of staff to use disciplinary situations as opportunities for helping students learn to assume responsibility and consequences of their behavior.  Staff members who interact with students shall apply Second Step guidelines designed to prevent discipline problems and encourage students’ abilities to develop self-discipline. 

Since bystander support of harassment or bullying can support these behaviors, the district prohibits both active and passive support for acts of harassment or bullying.  The staff should encourage students to support students who walk away from these acts when they see them, constructively attempt to stop them, or report them to the designated authority.  

The Stone Corral School Board of Education requires its school administrators to develop and implement procedures, such as Second Step, that ensure both the appropriate consequences and remedial responses to a student or staff member who commits one or more acts of harassment or bullying.  The following factors, at a minimum, shall be given full consideration by school administrators in the development of the procedures for determining appropriate consequences and remedial measures for each act of harassment or bullying. 

No student should accept being harassed/bullied by other student(s). Students should report any type of harassment/bullying by other student(s) to a teacher, any staff member, or principal.  Harassment/bullying includes threats, name-calling, intimidation, hazing and inappropriate touching, gestures, symbol display or verbal/non-verbal/written communication that makes a student feel uncomfortable or unsafe even if the person engaging in such behavior does not feel he/she is harassing/bullying. 

Factors for Determining Consequences 

• Age, development, and maturity levels of the parties involved
• Degree of harm
• Surrounding circumstances
• Nature and severity of the behavior(s)
• Incidences of past or continuing pattern(s) of behavior
• Relationship between the parties involved
• Context in which the alleged incident(s) occurred

Disciplinary Procedures 

The following disciplinary procedures will be used to correct undesired behavior of students who break school or classroom rules. Each will be assessed based on the severity of the situation. The following are some of the options that may be chosen for students who are disciplined for unacceptable actions: 

• The student conferences with a teacher/administrator.
• A written analysis of the incident is required of the student.
• Parents are contacted.
• Detentions are given for missed class work.
• Recess or lunch detentions are assigned.
• Daily progress reports/daily contracts are required to be made with an administrator or teacher.
• Saturday School is assigned.
• The case is referred to the Student Study Team.
• In-house suspension is assigned.
• A school behavior contract is written and signed by the students and parent/guardian.
• At home suspension is given for a period of 1 to 5 days.
• A sheriff’s report is filed.
• The case is referred to the School District for potential expulsion of the student.