Tate J.

Hedtke
Sped 605
Assignment #8
Standard #5
Cross Categorical Special Education/ Learning Disabilities
Artifact Summary:
This artifact discusses the current state of bullying policies in the Medford Area
Public School District. I will continue the discussion with my observations of
bullying in Medford Area Senior High School, especially concerning special
education students.

Bullying and Conflict Resolution in regards to Special Education

Bullying is something more than a hot button topic in education that is discussed by the media,
and in legislative meetings. Bullying is not something that just happens as students are walking
down the hallway, or something that happens in large cities. Bullying is something that happens
to students of every race, color, orientation, creed, and any other difference that may draw
unwanted attention. The list of differences, or reasons kids have been bullied is truly immense.
The difficulty as an educator of special education students because different rules apply when an
individual has an IEP, they are much more protected and offenders may face much stiffer
consequences.
One might say that bullying is as old as education itself, that it is something that students
must get used to, or that they should simply toughen up. Although this author cannot attest to
experiences that happened more than twenty years ago, he can assume that the playful bullying
and hazing that went on for years before his public education began was just as bad as it was
when he was in school. The difference between bullying now, and bullying prior to the
beginning of the 21st century is that now, bullying is all encompassing. When students leave
school, those that might have simply slipped between the cracks in order to avoid negative
situations can now be harassed any hour of day through: text messaging, Twitter, email,
Facebook, video games, message boards; the list could go on forever. Students who used to exist
on the margins of a schools social scene and associate with their own groups of friends, those
who could avoid negative attention when they desired are now subjected to bullying at all times.

Cyber bullying is the wave of the future. As students gain access to a greater amount of
electronic devices they are discovering the means to stay in touch with one another at a
moments notice. Also, communicating through electronic devices gives kids the ability to hide

behind their devices. Being masked through the internet gives individuals the confidence to say
things they would normally not say to an individual, and take part in activities that may be
extremely detrimental to fellow students, such as posting things online for others to read. Cyber
bullying is a difficult thing to monitor as educators. Are we supposed to be responsible for
electronic communications that happen outside of the school? When does it cross the line from
bullying to harassment and needs police involvement? These are all issues teachers battle with
on a daily basis.
Another troubling truth of working with special education students is the fact that they
may not always be aware of when they are being bullied. Often times students with learning
disabilities, emotional disabilities or cognitive disabilities exist on the social fringe of schools.
They do not have the same types of interactions with fellow students and often times do not
comprehend the types of attention directed towards them. This is difficult to view as an
educator, and even more difficult to explain to an individual with special needs who may not
always view the attention as bullying, or see that there is anything wrong with certain activities.
In Medford, the student hand book is very clear concerning its stance on bullying. The
Medford district has defined bullying as:
...deliberate or intentional behavior using words or actions, intended to cause fear,
intimidation, or harm. Bullying may be repeated behavior and involves an imbalance of
power. The behavior may be motivated by an actual or perceived distinguishing
characteristic, such as, but not limited to: age, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion,
gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical attributes, physical or mental ability
or disability, and social, economic, or family status.

Bullying need not be physical altercations; it doesnt even need to involve direct contact, or the
exchange of words between one another. As is more commonly seen with girls, bullying can be
simply spreading rumors or defamation about another individual.
The methods established to deal with bullying and harassment for students are very
similar for students as they are for staff members. All concerns and issues should be reported to
the building principal in either a written or oral fashion, which can cause a problem. Although
prohibited, students frequently hesitate to report bullying due to the fear of reprisals. Most often,
bullying takes place behind the backs of educators, and well out of earshot. It can be difficult for
the proper procedures to be fulfilled when sufficient evidence cannot be compiled on the
perpetrator.
The policy in Medford may take up to 90 days or more to successfully deal with a
bullying issue. The building principal is responsible to provide written acknowledgement about
complaints within 45 days of receiving them, but is then allowed another 45 days to settle the
matter. That is half of the school year; in which, a great deal of damage can be done. Much like
the staff grievance procedures, victims and the accused both have the ability to appeal decisions
of school administration up to, and beyond that of the school board by means of the Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction.
As a classroom teacher, I can attest that bullying is a very difficult problem to tackle on a
day to day basis. Being a new teacher, in a new community I have not gotten the chance to learn
the personalities of all of my students yet, and I have been forced into classrooms already wellestablished in their atmosphere and camaraderie. What I may view as bullying, could perhaps be
interaction between two close friends that offends neither. At the same time, what I view as
good natured ribbing could be misconstrued as harassment in the most severe sense by another.

While these policies are pretty effective when establishing boundaries for student conduct, I
really feel that it needs to be the responsibility of parents and social support within the home if
this type of behavior is to be truly stymied. While conversing with an older custodian this
evening, he brought up back in the day, we policed it ourselves. Which may be true, if
someone were harassing another, perhaps a group of individuals simply put an end to it: by
means of course which are no longer acceptable in schools or legal.
Another change in bullying, especially for special education students and staff is the fact
that not so many decades ago special education students were not associating with the typical
population in schools. They spent time pulled out in facilities, and schools established just for
special education students where everyone was on the same playing field, and differences
between students were not so great.

Sources:
Medford Area Public School Districts Student Handbook