Cyber-Bulling policies in schools

By

Todd Hamontree
July 13th 2011

Policy 1
Cape May County Special Services School District, .(n.d). Cyber-Bullying Policy. Retrieved from http://cmcspecialservices.org/Policies/CyberBully.html 1st policy is from the Cape May County Special Services School District. This policy gives a definition of what is considered Cyber-Bullying as well as gives a reason why the policy is required. This policy also goes into the procedures for conducting an investigation once a complaint is filed. The policy talks about the consequences for the perpetrator if found guilty. They also go into if false accusations are found to be true. The policy goes into the consequences if the cyber-Bulling in done with school equipment and if it is done with personal equipment. I felt this policy had many strengths. First, it gave reasons why the policy needed to be created. I also liked that they went into the consequences for both the offender as well as if a false acquisition is found to assist. They also cover

if the Cyber-Bulling took place outside of school to a student in their school district. The fact that this policy mentions law enforcement I believe this will catch the attention of more students than if it was not mentioned. Here are a couple of things I felt could have been added to this policy. They might want to add a pre-teaching aspect so the students can become more familiar with what is expected and to help define anything they might not understand. If they did not want to put a pre-teaching part into the policy then it would be a good idea to define or give examples of the aspects of Cyber-Bulling. The last part I might add is a signature for the students and teachers that states they have read and understand the policy. This would take care of any complaints from parents and students stating they didn t know they couldn t do that.

Policy 2
Gale Ranch Middle School, .(n.d.). District cyber-bullying policy. Retrieved from http://grms.schoolloop.com/cyberbullying

The 2nd policy is from Gale Ranch Middle School. This is a policy for a middle school. It is basic and to the point. This is a policy that a middle school student could read and understand with little to no help. They talk about the definition Cyber-Bulling as well as the consequences that will occur if found guilty. There are only two consequences for a student found guilty. Depending on the severity an offender will receive on day of suspension or for a repeat offender or a more severe offence is expulsion. The last part of the policy is instructions on how to report the offence.

The strength of this policy is that most students would be able to understand it. The policy is basic and to the point. It explains what Cyber-Bulling is and what will happen if it occurs. They connect Cyber-Bullying to something the students should be more familiar with which is bullying and harassment. Since they are all very similar this might help the level of understanding. It is also good that they mentioned the police. This will get the attention of some students that might not have pay too much attention to the policy otherwise. Now with the policy being so basic it will lend itself to being questioned by a student being accused. There is no mention about if someone falsely accuses someone. It might be mentioned in another code of conduct policy but it should be mentioned in some way to help prevent it from happening. I would also add some sort of teaching element to the policy.

Policy 3
Warwick School District, (n.d.). Bullying / cyber-bullying policy. Retrieved from http://www.warwick.k12.pa.us/orgmodule.php?deptid=107&schoolid=0007&mid=248

The last policy I am reviewing is from Warwick School district. This is a district policy and it covers both bully and Cyber-Bullying. This article states way they have put a policy in place. The policy defines what is considered bullying and Cyber-Bullying. Both definitions are very similar, but the difference is how the offences are done. Bulling is face to face or written where as Cyber-Bullying is technology based. The next part is about how and who will deal with the offense. Any staff member is responsible to respond to an offence in a proper way. The teachers are to turn the information in to an administrator for them to investigate further.

The final part of the policy is the discipline that will be imposed. The policy does not go into great detail it refers back to the disciplinary code. Some strengths of this policy are the connection between bulling and Cyber-Bullying. This should help the students and parents become more familiar with Cyber-Bullying. I liked the way they have showed how to report a complaint. The policy indicated to the student and parent how to report and offense. The policy covered a lot of possible ways that Cyber-Bullying could occur. Finally, I believe that stating at the beginning of the policy why you are putting a policy together is an important part of acceptance. One element that could be added to this policy is a more defined consequences for an offender. The policy could tell you where you can look to find what could happen but there should be a little more in the document itself. I would also add a teaching element to this policy to help define and explain in greater detail what constitute Cyber-Bullying. The last part I would add is a signature page for the students and parents to turn in to prove they understand the policy.

My Cyber-Bullying Policy
Our school strives to give our students a safe and comfortable place to learn to achieve at their highest level. To help with this goal we have put into place several code of conduct policies and we are now adding this one on CyberBullying. By adding this policy we are continuing towards our goal of a safe and comfortable learning environment. Cyber-Bully and bullying are very similar in definition. The main difference is the method used to intimidate. Definition of Cyber-Bullying Making another person feel intimidated, scared or uncomfortable by harassment, teasing, threats or any other action with the use of technology that will disrupt a student s ability to learn to his/her highest ability.

Forms of Cyber-Bullying

y y y y y y y

Texting Blogs Facebook posting Websites Instant messaging Digital pictures (cameras, phones, iPods, ect.) Any other digital media use to disrupt a students learning

Complaint procedures

Parent or student needs to notify appropriate teacher or administrator with complaint and any evidence they have

y y

A written complaint will be filled out detailing what had occurred Every staff member is responsible to watch for and or review any complaints and turn all information over to the appropriate administrator

Administrator will review all material and decide a consequence or decide that the charge needs to be investigated more

If a complaint seems to be false, then action will be taken on the accuser

Consequence

Non severe first time offence will be a 2 day in school suspension

Severe first time offence and second time offence will be 3 days out of school suspension and 3 days in school suspension

y y

Depending on the severity and the multiple occurrences expulsion is always an option If the administrator feels the need to involve law enforcement they will be brought into deal with the offender and parents

To help explain this policy there will be an informational video shown to all students and put on the schools website for parents to view. There will be a document that accompanies this video for parents and students to sign saying they have seen the video and understand what Cyber-Bullying is and the consequences that go along with it.