In the Texas Education code bullying is now defined as;engaging
in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic
means, or physical conduct that occurs on school property, at a
school-sponsored or school- related activity, or in a vehicle
operated by the district and that: (1) has the effect or will have
the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a students
property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the
students person or of damage to the students property; or (2) is
sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the
action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive
educational environment for a student. (NEW DEFINITION) House Bill
1942
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Student Codes of Conduct must prohibit bullying and other
harassing behaviors. Texas law: Texas Education Code - Student Code
of Conduct: The code of conduct must: Specify circumstances under
which a student may be removed from a classroom, school campus, or
alternative education program; Specify conditions when a principal
or administrator may transfer a student to an alternative education
program; Outline conditions under which a student may be suspended
or expelled; Address parent/guardian notification of code
violations that result in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
alternative education program, or expulsion; Prohibit bullying,
harassment, and making hit lists and ensure that district employees
enforce these prohibitions Provide methods for classroom
management, student discipline, and preventing and intervening in
student discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and
making hit lists. Defines harassment as threatening to cause harm
or bodily injury to another student, engaging in sexually
intimidating conduct, causing physical damage to the property of
another student, subjecting another student to physical confinement
or restraint, or maliciously taking any action that substantially
harms another students physical or emotional health or safety.
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Verbal Bullying name calling, teasing, derogatory woods,
demeaning language, verbal agreement. Physical Bullying hitting,
kicking, shoving, pushing, and spitting. Cyber-Bullying Using
internet, mobile phone, or other digital technologies to
communicate words, images to purposely harm. Sexual Bullying
Repeated unwanted sexual advances or action to make another,
uncomfortable, embarrassed or humiliated. Racial Bullying Repeated
hostile or offensive actions against people because of their skin
color, cultural, religious background or ethnic origin.
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Parents/guardians may request that their child be transferred
to another classroom or another school if their child is a victim
of bullying. It is the responsibility of the board of trustees or
the boards designee to verify that the student has been a victim of
bullying before the transfer may occur and may consider past
student behavior when identifying a bully. School districts are not
required to provide transportation to a student who transfers to
another school. A district may transfer the student who engaged in
bullying to another campus at the campus to which the victim was
assigned at the time the bullying occurred, or a campus other than
that campus -- after consulting with the parent of the student who
engaged in bullying. Tex. Education Code 25.0342 and (NEW)
37.0832
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NEW Texas law: Texas Education Code Discipline, Law and Order
Bullying Prevention Policies and Procedures The Board of Trustees
of each school district must adopt a policy, including any
necessary procedures, concerning bullying that: prohibits the
bullying of a student; prohibits retaliation against any person,
including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith
provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
establishes a procedure for providing notice of an incident of
bullying to a parent or guardian of the victim and a parent or
guardian of the bully within a reasonable amount of time after the
incident; establishes the actions a student should take to obtain
assistance and intervention in response to bullying; sets out the
available counseling options for a student who is a victim of or a
witness to bullying or who engages in bullying; establishes
procedures for reporting an incident of bullying, investigating
reported incident of bullying, and determining whether the reported
incident of bullying occurred; prohibits the imposition of a
disciplinary measure on a student who is a victim of bullying on
the basis of that student's use of reasonable self-defense in
response to the bullying; requires that discipline for bullying of
a student with disabilities comply with applicable requirements
under federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. Tex. Education Code 37.0832
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Investigate (questions) Report (forms in Place) Document
(parents)
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Identifying a bully Identifying the victim Strategies to work
with Bullies, Victims, and Bystanders Discipline Procedures Best
Practices or Programs
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Notify the police if the aggressive behavior is criminal. The
following may constitute a crime: Threats of violence Child
pornography and sexting Taking a photo image of someone in a place
where he or she would expect privacy Harassment, stalking, or hate
crimes Obscene or harassing phone calls or text messages Sexual
exploitation Extortion
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School districts are liable for student-on-student sexual
harassment, and accordingly acts of adolescent dating abuse that
constitute sexual harassment, when; (1) a student has been sexually
harassed; (2) the school has actual knowledge of the harassment;
(3) the harassment was severe, pervasive and objectively offensive;
(4) the harassment caused the student to be deprived of access to
educational opportunities or benefits; and (5) the school is
deliberately indifferent to the harassment
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District Must have a Dating Violence Policy in Place and
included in the district improvement plan. This policy must address
safety planning, enforcement of Protective orders. School based
alternative to protective orders, training for staff, Counseling of
affected students Awareness education for Students and Parents
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Definition of Key Terms Clear, concise definitions also allow
every member of the school community to have same understanding of
the scope, goals, and limitations of the policy. Confidentiality
The policy should contain a statement that any student information
regarding dating violence will be kept confidential to the best of
the schools ability. In addition, each school should develop
protocols regarding sharing of student information with staff,
parents, community- based organizations, law enforcement, and child
protective services. Students Rights and Responsibilities The
districts policy or student code of conduct should include a
statement of students rights and responsibilities under the
districts policies. This statement need not be specific to
situations of dating violence, however it should include the rights
afforded to both a victim of dating violence and an alleged
perpetrator. Statement of Zero Tolerance The policy should contain
a clear statement that all forms of dating violence including
dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, and harassment are
unacceptable and unwelcome in a positive, supportive learning
environment. Staff Training Every member of the school staff should
receive a basic training on dating violence annually.
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Intervention The policy should include protocols describing the
duties of school staff when they witness or are informed of an
incident of dating violence. This protocol should include basic
steps such as separating the victim and the abuser, assessing
immediate safety, informing the victim of his/her rights under the
school policy, and documenting the incident. Accommodations
Students who are victims of dating violence should have the right
to ask their school for reasonable accommodation to protect their
safety and allow them to continue their education with minimal
disruption. The policy should describe the process for requesting
an accommodation, the types of accommodation available. Discipline
The district should ensure that its discipline code is inclusive of
dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, and harassment. The
discipline code should prohibit each of these behaviors explicitly,
as well as prohibit the underlying acts that comprise them. For
example, the code may already prohibit threats, assaults, and
destruction of property, but it should also state that dating
violence is prohibited and is punishable by suspension or
expulsion. In addition, the discipline code or school policy should
describe the process for filing a complaint against a perpetrator
of dating violence, for situations where the abusive incident was
not witnessed by a staff member.
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Prevention This can include modeling respectful behavior, using
teachable moments, and class projects exploring dating violence
topics. Staff Training Every member of the school staff should
receive a basic training on dating violence annually. Enforcement
of Court Orders Schools are key partners in ensuring that civil
protection orders are effective in protecting the safety of
students experiencing dating violence. The policy should include a
statement that the district is committed to assisting students with
civil protection orders and the districts protocol for doing so.
Documentation Dating violence is often a pattern of behaviors,
occurring over a period of time. In some cases, it is only by
considering the entire history of a relationship that a pattern of
abuse may be seen. It is vital that the policy describe the
protocol for documenting incidents of abuse that are witnessed by
school staff or reported by students. These files should be kept
confidential and treated like other educational records with regard
to access by parents or courts.
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When a student discloses an incident of dating violence or
sexual violence to a school employee, or if a school employee
witnesses an incident that he/she believes is dating violence or
sexual violence, the school employee must take the following
actions with the non-offending student or make a timely referral to
the appropriate Advocate who shall take the following actions as
soon as possible: Inform the student of this policy and his/her
rights under the policy, including accommodations and complaint
process. If desired by the student, assist with requests for
accommodation or complaint forms. Provide the student with a list
of local resources, including on- and off-campus services, and
refer him/her to appropriate services. If desired by the student,
create a safety plan that addresses on- and off-campus safety.
Offer to connect the student with a campus or community-based
advocate. Assist with enforcement of protection orders as defined
by this policy. Offer ongoing assistance and advocacy to the
student throughout the students school career. With middle school
students, the Advocate will, in addition to the above activities:
Provide the student with age/developmentally appropriate material
explaining dating violence and sexual violence, including the
schools policy on teen dating violence and sexual violence.
Promptly involved parent(s) and assist in facilitating
communication with student and parent(s), including providing
educational materials and resources on dating violence and sexual
violence. Involve parent(s) in the creation of a safety plan for
the student.
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House Bill 2496
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SB 407
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2012 2013 School Year
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The primary responsibility of a school counselor is to counsel
students to fully develop each student's academic, career,
personal, and social abilities. In addition to a school counselor's
responsibility described above, the counselor shall participate in
planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive
developmental guidance program to serve all students and to address
the special needs of students who are at risk of dropping out of
school, becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity,
or committing suicide. Tex. Education Code 33.006 (a) and (b)
Slide 20
A child may consent to counseling for: suicide prevention;
chemical addiction or dependency; or sexual, physical, or emotional
abuse. A licensed or certified physician, psychologist, counselor,
or social worker having reasonable grounds to believe that a child
has been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused, is
contemplating suicide, or is suffering from a chemical or drug
addiction or dependency may counsel the child without the consent
of the child's parents or, if applicable, managing conservator or
guardian with or without the consent of the child who is a client,
advise the child's parents or, if applicable, managing conservator
or guardian of the treatment given to or needed by the child; and
rely on the written statement of the child containing the grounds
on which the child has capacity to consent to the child's own
treatment under this section. Unless consent is obtained as
otherwise allowed by law, a physician, psychologist, counselor, or
social worker may not counsel a child if consent is prohibited by a
court order. Tex. Family Code 32.004
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The Department of State Health Services (in coordination with
the Texas Education Agency) must provide and annually update a list
of best practice suicide prevention programs for consideration by
public schools and report on implementation. The new law also
requires DSHS and TEA in developing the list of programs to
consider: existing suicide prevention method developed by districts
and any internet or online course program developed in the state or
another state recognized by the Suicide Prevention Resource
Center.
Slide 22
The new law requires that these program on the best practice
list include components that provide for training counselors,
teachers nurses, administrators and all other staff as well who
regularly interact with students to: 1) Recognize student at risk
of committing suicide including the victims or those that engage in
bullying. 2) recognize students displaying early warning signs and
possible need for early mental health intervention. 3)Intervene
effectively with students as mentioned in 1 and 2
Slide 23
Create a prevention task force and link with community services
New term bullicide In-service all staff annually on the warning
signs Train support staff on suicide assessment and parent
notification issues Investigate depression screening and Teen
Screen and SOS are evidenced based www.sprc.org www.sprc.org Have
support staff obtain the school accreditation credential for
suicide prevention Promote local crisis resources and 1-800-
Suicide
Slide 24
HB 1386
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SB 471
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SB 198
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SB 1224
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House bill 3474
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House Bill 2170
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House Bill 1907
Slide 31
SB 49 Parent Notification with DAEP Placement SB 1106
Disclosure of Student Information to Juvenile Service Providers SB
1489 Educational Juvenile Justice and Criminal Justice Responses to
Truancy HB 359 Corporal Punishment HB 968 Expulsion from School or
Placement in DAEP
Slide 32
SB 36 methods for Degree Completion SB 149 School District
College Credit Program HB 2538 Confidentiality of Certain Student
information HB 3025 Filing a Degree Plan HB 3468 College Readiness
Assessment SB 966 High School Diplomas Certain Military
Veterans
Slide 33
HB 692 High School Graduation requirements for students with
Disabilities HB 2909 Increasing Awareness of Higher Education HB
3708 Early High School Graduation Scholarship Program
