School’s back in full swing, and so are bullies. Not that they’ve waited all summer for school to begin—they’ve most likely been spreading their terror off school grounds over their vacation. But, now that students are back on campus, bullying is once again a concern for your school.
Student safety is your number one objective and bullies threaten your school’s mission. Over the past two years, many states (at least 44) have instated harsh rules for schools in dealing with bullying. Many of these rules have come about from the increased awareness of student depression and suicide. And although private schools are not required to follow state mandates, they should be aware of what is trending in their region.
States such as Massachusetts and New Jersey are requiring teachers and school officials to be trained in bullying prevention, and will be held responsible for reporting instances of harassment, intimidation, and bullying to the school’s principal. Each school will be graded on its progress and these grades will be posted on the school’s Web site. Schools that fail to recognize and handle incidents will be subject to state discipline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM3dYbbP7l4
At least 31 states have also enacted anti-bullying laws regarding cyberbullying. The Cyberbullying Research Center has a free PDF download that highlights (as of January 2016) which states have updated anti-bullying laws, which states include electronic harassment (e-mails, text messages, etc.) and the state-by-state details.
About.com published an article “Preventing Bullying in Private Schools.” Most of the article is common sense; however, it does state that private schools often offer a more secure, bully-free environment because of their smaller size and tighter student to faculty ratio. This is an interesting perspective when taking the study conducted by the Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics into consideration. This study, which compiles information from 43,000 high school students, found that:
- Boys at religious private schools were the most likely to say that they had used racial slurs and insults in the past year.
- Boys at religious private schools were the most likely to say thay had bullied, teased, or taunted someone in the past year.
- Boys at public schools were the most likely to say it was OK to hit or threaten a person who makes them angry, while boys at private religious schools were just likely to say they had actually done it.
The report also provides the following summaries:
- 33% of all high school students said that violence is a big problem at their school.
- 24% said they do not feel safe at school.
- 52% admitted that within the past year, they hit someone because they were angry.
- 10% said they brought a weapon to school over the past 12 months.
- 16% said they had been intoxicated at school.
These finding may surprise you. If so, know that there is protection available for your facility. And, although we recognize that the best protection is preventive action such as faculty and administration professional training about bullying, we also believe in investing in insurance policies that assure your school’s safety. Watch our latest podcast on protection from bullying above for more information about which policies can protect your school.
Contact ISM’s President of Insurance,
Additional ISM articles of interest:
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 7 No. 8 “The Bullying Epidemic”
ISM Monthly Update for Admission Officers Vol. 9 No. 6 “Massachusetts Tracks Bullying”
Private School News Vol. 9 No. 4 "Tips for Parents on How to Keep Their Children Safe Online"
Private School News Vol. 10 No. 2 "Educating Kids About Social Media—21st Century Technology in the Classroom"
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 9 No. 8 "According to a New Study Teachers Ill-Prepared to Teach Cybersafety"
I&P Vol. 36 No. 3 (for Consortium members only) "Addressing Bullying and Sexual Misconduct"
