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March 11, 2015 By Rodger Dinwiddie Leave a Comment

Distinguishing Between Bullying and Discriminatory Harassment

In 1999, there were exactly 0 (zero) state laws in the United States dealing with bullying. Post Columbine, state legislatures began to develop laws and school districts began to implement polices to address the issue of bullying that was now on the public’s radar screen. Now, 16 years later, there are 49 states with laws; all but Montana have anti-bullying laws. More than half of these laws also address cyberbullying.

Bullying_STARSFor the last 7 years the Tennessee Department of Education through the Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, has provided training for school leaders on Tennessee’s laws and best practices to deal with bullying and harassment. I’ve always been interested in the legal complexities schools face in dealing with these tough issues. As a part of my work, I’ve had the privilege of working with some tremendous attorney’s with the Department of Education in joining them as a co-presenter in these sessions entitled From Policy to Practice. The attorneys have covered the law and I have attempted to help school personnel understand and implement best practices to improve school climate and prevent bullying. Under the leadership of General Counsel, Christy Ballard, they have helped schools understand the legal complexities of these challenging issues.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to participate in additional training designed to help schools address issues to determine appropriate responses to bullying. To start, defining bullying is complex in and of itself. When the issue of legal harassment is added to the conversation the complexity increases.

The Bullying and Harassment Solutions for Schools: A Comprehensive System to Educate, Investigate and Remediate, developed by legal expert, Mary Jo McGrath, is a powerful system for investigating bullying incidences. The system is designed to help schools drill down to the key issues of whether the issue at hand is conflict, bullying and/or harassment.

Throughout the training, Mary Jo reiterated that the same behavior(s) in question may actually violate one or more areas of law:

  1. School administrative law prohibiting bullying or harassment and justifying action under the student code of conduct and board of policy and regulations;
  2. Criminal law (e.g., hate crimes); and
  3. State civil statutes relating to anti-bullying provisions or even negligence; or under civil rights action if protected classification is involved and discrimination is found.

In short, a bullying complaint may come under any or all of these areas of law.

The McGrath system also helps schools understand when they are responsible for addressing bullying situations. Simply, a school is responsible for addressing bullying and harassment incidents about which it knows or reasonably should have known.

Mary Jo quotes Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “Every adult in the school from principals to custodians, cafeteria workers to teachers must intervene and act when they see bullying for whatever reason.” This is something that the Tennessee Department of Education has been stressing through the Policy to Practice workshops for many years. Everyone in the school must address bullying and harassment.

Schools face some formidable challenges when an act of bullying is reported. Not only does the school need to determine the context in which the act may have occurred, they also must determine if the act is more serious and is a potential civil rights violation, or discriminatory harassment.

Perhaps one of the most important distinctions discussed during the McGrath training is the primary distinguishing factor between bullying and bullying that is discriminatory harassment. If the behavior was targeted toward a member of a protected classification, other issues must be considered. Federally protected classifications include:

  • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin as well as including English Language Learners.
  • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex, which covers sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, pregnant and parenting students, and athletics. Finally,
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on disability.

STARS is now able to offer training for individual school(s) and school districts that would like to go deeper in this challenging conversation. We will be able to offer the McGrath Systems approach to help schools be certain that they are doing all that they can to address the issue of bullying and harassment, implement clear investigative protocols resulting in a more positive school climate for both students, parents and school personnel. For more information about how your school/district can take advantage of this opportunity, contact STARS at 615-279-0058 or email Teresa Whitaker to discuss the possibility.

Filed Under: Awareness, Bullying Prevention, Kids on the Block, MOVE2STAND, Services for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Student Assistance Program, What's Happening Now, Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse (YODA)

October 17, 2014 By Rodger Dinwiddie Leave a Comment

A Gusty Move

“Coaches Key To Anti-Hazing: Knowing pulse of team touted amid New Jersey fallout.” USA Today, October 10, 2014

A Gusty Move

To cancel the remainder of the football season for the Sayreville War Memorial High School (New Jersey) is a gutsy move. In this era of football fervor these coaches and administrators did the unthinkable. I don’t pretend to know the facts of this particular case of hazing. What I do know is that based on the comments from the coaches it appears that there was a culture of bullying and inappropriate behavior that had become “normative” within the team and the locker room. Seven high school students were also arrested October 10 for acts of “sex crimes amid a hazing investigation” from the high school. And, just as the state was beginning to recognize National Bullying Prevention Month through a “Week of Respect,” the events of this story became public.

It’s been a rough several months for football in general. From the pros, to college, to high schools, attention is heightened about the manner in which athletes are treating those in lesser power situations. Domestic abuse, horrible vulgar language at the college level, new rules in the NFL about fouls for online language for players using racial slurs or other forms of abusive language have all been in the news. And, then these acts of bullying and hazing at the high school level have shined a light on the necessity of education and awareness as well as leadership within all sports teams.  New norms needs to be established … not just for football teams but for all sports teams.

It is a privilege to be an athlete. I was one. My adult children were excellent athletes … one played Division I soccer, the other unable to continue football at the collegiate level due to serious back injuries. Like it or not athletes are looked upon as models of strength and leadership in our culture. Not just football players, but all athletes. Whether it’s the NFL, college, high school, or middle school locker rooms, or in Junior Pro athletic leagues, bullying prevention is everyone’s business. It’s also the business of those tasked with leading these organizations to set high expectations and standards for those in their charge.  That’s why the prevention of abuse in all its forms is so important.

For me, it’s much more than bullying that needs to be addressed. The way we treat each other in general is at the very core of preventing bullying, hazing and harassment. And, the way we treat each other has everything to do with the development of emotional intelligence and the responsibilities of leadership. That’s why I am so excited to be part of an organization that is doing so much to help address student athletes in high schools and middle schools across the United States. Through our MOVE2STAND (M2S) program, student athletes and leaders are being trained to speak up, speak out and stand up for good in their schools. Not just to stop bullying, but to foster environments where the norms are based on care for everyone, where empathy and respect for the uniqueness of every individual in the school is highly valued. Through our BEE A FRIEND Campaign students are being challenged to change the world one friend at a time. Challenging students to reach out and befriend others is at the core of building a culture of kindness and compassion in schools. These exciting efforts provide all students an opportunity to not just lead on the field or in the gym or rink, but also in the halls, cafeterias, classrooms, busses, and locker rooms. M2S and BEE A FRIEND are working to bring about a climate of compassion and kindness for everyone!!!

The leadership at Sayreville took a bold, gutsy stand in the face of what had to be enormous pressure concerning our nation’s love of the game. I believe they made the right call. They set an example for everyone … enough is enough and this business of prevention is everyone’s business! As our young men and women step up and are being challenged to speak out on these critical issues, the norms will change – not simply for the here and now but for years to come.

Photo Credit: Andrew Mills 

Filed Under: Bullying Prevention, What's Happening Now Tagged With: anti-bullying, Anti-Hazing, bullying prevention, NFL, Sayreville War Memorial High School

April 2, 2012 By Rodger Dinwiddie Leave a Comment

“Bully”

With the Friday, March 30 limited release of the movie “Bully,” once again this difficult issue is being presented in an important national forum.  We applaud the efforts to create a dialogue and show a sympathetic view of the pain affected students are experiencing.  

At the same time, as advocates of bullying prevention, we want to caution our community to understand bullying and suicide are very complex issues. We encourage parents and teachers to take a careful look at the movie before allowing your child or student to view it.

We do not endorse any political views but did want to share with you a passage from an article written by Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon who interviewed Ann Haas, a senior project specialist for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

She quoted Haas as saying “Hirsch (Director of “Bully”) has created a real risk of suicide contagion—the documented phenomenon of people mimicking suicidal behavior in light of media representations. “I worry terribly about the contagion effect,” Haas said. “One message of this move is: ‘Bullying kills’—as if it’s a normal response to kill yourself, when of course most people who are bullied don’t do that.”

At the end of the day, we all have to be careful that we are not incorrectly portraying the issue of bullying which does a huge disservice to students and our entire community.

Students Taking A Right Stand (STARS) has been on the forefront of bullying prevention in our community by working with students, teachers, schools and families to address this serious issue through a variety of solution-based techniques. If you have any questions or need assistance, STARS specialists are located in most schools throughout the Nashville area or you can call 615-279-0058. In addition, we encourage anyone with concerns to contact the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network at 615-297-1077 or www.tspn.org.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

October 5, 2011 By Rodger Dinwiddie Leave a Comment

Patricia Hart Society/Williamson United Way Helps Parents

To educate Williamson County parents on how to recognize the warning signs their child is being bullied or their child might be bullying others, the Patricia Hart Society has scheduled a “Lunch & Learn” with Rodger Dinwiddie, CEO of STARS (Students Taking A Right Stand).

The free seminar is open to anyone in Williamson County and will be held on Friday, Oct. 7th at 12:00 noon until 1 p.m. in the offices of United Way of Williamson County. Bring your own brown bag lunch but reservations are required with seating limited to 50 attendees. Contact Debby Rainey with United Way at 615-771-2312 for a reservation.

Bullying can happen anywhere – face-to-face, by text messages or on the web. It is not limited by age, gender, or education level. It is not a phase and it is not a joke. Bullying can cause lasting harm. There are many warning signs that could indicate that someone is involved in bullying. If you suspect that someone you know is being bullied or is bullying others, check out the warning signs so you can help at www.starsnashville.org.

United Way of Williamson County is dedicated to advancing the common good and creating opportunities for a good life for all members of our community. To do that, United Way addresses the underlying causes of problems that prevent progress toward a better life. In our 50th year of caring for our community, we invite you to join us as we continue this rewarding work. You can give, you can advocate and you can volunteer.

To find out more about United Way of Williamson County, please visit: www.uwwc.org or call the office at 615-771-2312.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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STARS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, culture, religion or creed, socioeconomic status, language, age, sexual orientation, or national origin. No one shall be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any of STARS’ programs or activities. STARS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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