Bullying and Harassment Information

Bullying: Bullying may take place in a variety of hostile acts that are carried out repeatedly over time. The acts involve a real or perceived imbalance of power, with the more powerful child or group attacking those who are less powerful. It may be physical (hitting, kicking, spitting, pushing), verbal (taunting, malicious teasing, name calling, threatening), or psychological (spreading rumors, manipulating social relationships, or promoting social exclusion, extortion or intimidation). Bullying is any severe or pervasive action or conduct directed toward one or more students that have the effect of one or more of the following: 1) places a reasonable student in fear of harm to that student’s person or property; 2) causes a reasonable student to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health; 3) causes a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with is or her academic performance; 4) causes a reasonable student to experience interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by the School.

Other types of bullying:
• Sexual bullying includes many of the actions typical of bullying behavior with the added actions of exhibitionism, voyeurism, sexual propositioning, sexual harassment and sexual abuse (touching, physical contact, sexual assault).
•Bias or hate-motivated bullying is a basic bias against or hate for a person or group. Examples include taunting one’s race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disabilities. The bullying behavior may also be aggressive, antagonistic, and assaultive.
•Hazing is a form of aggressive behavior that usually involves intimidation and humiliation during an initiation for a student organization or body, club, group or sports team. It may involve conduct that is likely to cause serious bodily injury or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to a former, current or prospective pupil. Hazing does not include athletic events or school-sanctioned events.
•Cyberbullying involves bullying conduct that is created or transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone or other wireless communication device, computer or pager communicating any of the following: 1) a message, text, sound or image; 2) a post on a social network Internet Web site, including a “Burn Page,” an impersonation of another student, and a false profile.
•Cyber sexual bullying involves dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph or other visual recording by a pupil to another pupil or to school personnel by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more effects described in (1) – (4) above. A photograph or other visual recording shall include the depiction of a nude, semi-nude, or sexually explicit photograph or other visual recording of a minor where the minor is identifiable from the photograph, visual recording or other electronic act. •Social media bullying involves bullying through forums for social media, such as internet websites with free registration and ease of registration, internet websites offering peer-to-peer instant messaging, internet websites offering comment forums and internet websites offering image or video posting platforms.
Bullying Prevention and Resources