Wednesday, February 25, 2009

State education board adopts new bullying policy

Associated Press

The State Board of Education has approved a model policy intended to stop bullying.

The policy applies to both physical bullying and bullying by way of cell phones or the Internet.

State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said the policy reflects the fact that "today's bullies come in many forms, including those who use electronic means."

It directs local school systems to submit copies of their anti-bullying policies to Grasmick by July 1 for review. [Sun]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A school policy for "bullying by means of cell phone or internet..."
I didn't think kids were supposed to use cell phones during school or school computers for personal business. If they are then the teachers and administrators are enabling the bullying and should be taken to task. My guess is that these activities are taking place after school hours on home computers. So why is the school system attempting to spread its tentacles into this problem? How did school administrators become the Nannies-in-Chief of this everincreasing Nanny State? The principals and superintendents are not the end all be all to our societal issues! It's none of their buisness what my child does or endures outside of school hours! If someone threatens my child via the phone or computer I will take action with the police and deal with the issue via the legal system. Why in heaven's name would any rational person call the principal or teacher and expect them to intervene? If my kid was raped or assaulted in the park would I call the school principal? What if my kid doesn't eat his peas at dinner? Should I call his teacher? The state board has no business making policies about things that occur outside of school hours. Should a teacher be made aware of issues that affect a student's learning or safety? Probably. But do they then automatically have the power to don a superhero uniform and "safe the day" with their stupid policies? Believe it or not there is already a system in place to deal with those issues. Can you say, peace order, restraining order, law suit, or official complaint? Let the school teach and leave threats and assaults (outside of school hours) to people that know how to handle them properly.