What You Need to Know about Bullying!

How do I make a report of bullying?
 
Bullard ISD is committed to providing all students with a safe and nurturing learning environment. If any student currently enrolled in our district does not feel safe and secure at school, we want to know about it. Bullard ISD has resources and a communications process in place to assist families in discussing or reporting any concerns, including experiences with bullying, harassment, and threats. We can act on these concerns when we know about them and, as a result, better serve our students and families.

Students or parents in the school community can anonymously submit any suspicious activity, bullying, or other student-related issues to a school administrator(s) and BISD Police Department through the District STOPit reporting system on the See Something, Say Something.

The STOPit reporting system is simple, secure and enables students, staff, parents or community members to quickly report incidents related to bullying, cyberbullying, student depression, family problems, self-harm, drugs, gang-related issues, harassment, weapons on campus or unusual student behavior which may warrant immediate attention by school officials. The reporter of the incident can remain anonymous or can identify themself for further communications with school officials. Once you complete the STOPit report, you will receive a confirmation that your information has been submitted to the school district.

Parents may also email the student’s teacher, campus principal, or counselor. The following details must be provided to expedite the initial investigation and response:

Campus name
Name of Bullard ISD student (the alleged victim)
Student ID number
Parent name/contact information
Names of witnesses
Names of alleged perpetrators
A detailed description of the alleged event
Date of the alleged event
Location of the alleged event
Supporting documentation/or other evidence supporting the allegations (if applicable)
Other information the reporter feels is relevant to the complaint
 
Please Note: For prompt reporting, we encourage students and parents to report issues through the STOPit app or link. In order to conduct a thorough investigation, it is important that reports include the specific information listed above. Bullard ISD will fully comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations as well as Board Policies in response to reports. In emergency situations requiring immediate assistance, please call 911.
 
Defining Bullying vs. Cyberbullying
Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in written or verbal expression or physical conduct against another student and the behavior:

• Results in harm to the student or the student’s property,
• Places a student in fear of harm to himself or his property, or
• Is so severe, persistent, and pervasive enough that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment
• This conduct is considered bullying if it exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator(s) and the student victim and if it interferes with a student’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of the school.
• Any student who believes that he or she has experienced prohibited harassment or bullying should immediately report the alleged acts to a teacher, counselor, or principal.
   

Examples of Bullying 

• Physical – harming someone’s body in any way, taking someone’s possessions, or damaging someone’s possessions in any way.
• Emotional – harming someone’s self-worth by verbal and nonverbal communication. This includes, but is not limited to, teasing, name-calling, insulting, intimidating, threatening, making gestures, staring/“mugging”, or eye-rolling.
• Social – Harming another person’s group acceptance through gossip, rumors, trying to ruin their reputation, arranging public humiliation, excluding others, getting others to exclude others, or interfering in someone’s making or keeping friends in any way.
• Electronic /Cyberbullying – Harming someone through the use of text messages, phone calls, emails, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, photos, or by any other electronic means.

Texas School Safety Center: What is Cyberbullying?  

Texas School Safety Center: Defining Bullying & Cyberbullying

Bullying vs. Harassment

What is the difference between bullying and harassment?
 
David's Law: SB 179

• SB 179, "David's Law" expanded authority to school districts, allowing public and charter schools to address cyberbullying off-campus and outside of school-related or school-sponsored activities based on specific criteria.
• In order to address this legislative change, this checklist may help parents, educators and administrators determine if a student at their school has been bullied according to the legislative definition. Please follow the conditional 'yes/no" logic for the questions regarding the use of electronic communication devices in possible bullying scenarios.

Prevention Programs
Bullying is strictly prohibited in Bullard ISD Schools. Our plan to combat bullying includes the procedures and techniques provided in Capturing Kids' Hearts and Restorative Practices. These techniques and procedures have been implemented across the district. 

Capturing Kids' Hearts
Capturing Kids’ Hearts is a set of processes developed by the Flippen Group intended to create healthy relationships between adults and youth and to support high-achieving learning environments. It is designed to strengthen students’ connection to school by:

• Increasing protective factors including positive character development, strong bonds with teachers, and consistently enforced behavioral agreements and
• Decreasing risk factors such as inappropriate behavior and poor social coping skills 

Schoolwide implementation of Capturing Kids’ Hearts consists of several strategies, collectively referred to as the EXCEL Model strategies, used by K-12 classroom teachers:

• Greeting students at the door with a handshake
• Asking students to share good things in their lives
• Having students create a social contract for expected classroom behavior
• Posing four questions to redirect behavior
• Using and encouraging students to use non-verbal hand signals to redirect behavior
• Ending the class on a powerful note or launch

Social Contract
Capturing Kids Hearts and the Social Contract is crucial to building a powerful classroom climate and culture. The Social Contract is created by the students, assisted by the teacher, in an effort to answer four questions regarding the environment of the classroom.

The resulting answers make up a list of adjectives that serve as the basis for student expectations of behavior in the classroom. The Social Contract is signed by all classroom members, including the teacher. The document is a living document and is referred to regularly to highlight success and serves as a guide for when problems arise.

The Four Behavior Questions:

• These are questions that we ask each other to help stay true to the social contract:
• What are you doing?
• What are you supposed to be doing?
• Why are you doing that?
• What are you going to do about that?

All BISD teachers & instructional staff have been 100% trained in CKH best practices.

Restorative Practices

• Restorative Practices are based on intentionally crafted methods of communication; created around specific themes which include the input of all participants in an orderly fashion.
• Restorative practices seek to repair harm without the need for punitive measures. Restorative practices strive to create a sense of community responsibility with a strong emphasis on direct communication.

 Restorative Work in Bullard ISD

• All Restorative Coordinators on Bullard ISD campuses have been trained by The Texas Education Agency.
• Teachers and support staff on select campuses have participated in community-building circles.  Teachers who feel proficient in community building are conducting their own community-building activities in their classrooms. 
• Restorative Coordinators are actively conducting community-building activities, harm repair circles, and family group counseling circles. 
   

Discipline Management Techniques
Per the Bullard ISD Student Code of Conduct, "Discipline shall be designed to improve conduct and encourage students to be responsible members of the school community. Disciplinary action shall draw on the professional judgment of teachers and administrators and on a range of discipline management techniques. Discipline shall be based on the seriousness of the offense, the student’s age and grade level, the frequency of misbehavior, the student’s attitude, the effect of the misconduct on the school environment, and statutory requirements."
 
How to help students deal with bullying
What kids can do to deal with bullying
What teens can do to deal with bullying
 
How parents can help with bullying
What adults can do to help with bullying
What if my child is showing bullying behaviors?
 
Other Bullying Resources
Texas School Safety Center - Bullying Checklist
Bullard ISD Board Policy-FFI(LEGAL) and FFI(LOCAL)
Bullying vs. Conflict
 
Confidentiality
To the greatest extent possible, the District shall respect the privacy of the complainant, persons against whom a report is filed, and witnesses. Limited disclosures may be necessary in order to conduct a thorough investigation.
 
*Sources
A Parent's Guide to School Saftey Toolkit: Bullying & Cyberbullying, Texas School Safety School Center (https://txssc.txstate.edu)
Conflict vs. Bullying: What's the Difference?, National Bullying Prevention Center (www.pacer.org)
Facts About Bullying: stopbullying.gov (www.stopbullying.gov)
What is Cyberbullying?, Texas School Safety Center (https://txssc.txstate.edu)
What is the Difference between Bullying and Harassment?, National Bullying Prevention Center (www.pacer.org)