GCSD Bullying Prevention and HMK

HMK Bully Prevention and Response

Grand County Policy FDAG Bullying, Intimidation, Harassment or Threat

Grand County School District Policy FDAG “No student may engage in bullying of a student or school employee on school property, at a school related or sponsored event, on a school bus, at a school bus stop, or while the student is traveling to or from a school location or school related or sponsored event. No student may engage in abusive conduct.

Students who engage in bullying or abusive conduct are in violation of this policy and verified infractions shall result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion, consistent with the District’s Safe Schools policy (FHA). 

Action Plan—

Upon receipt of a reported incident of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation, the school principal or designee shall promptly review and investigate the allegations. This investigation shall include interviewing the alleged targeted individual, the individual alleged to have engaged in prohibited conduct, the parents of the alleged target and alleged perpetrator, any witnesses to the conduct, school staff familiar with the alleged victim, and school staff familiar with the alleged perpetrator. The principal or designee may also review physical evidence, including but not limited to video or audio recordings, notes, email, text messages, social media, and graffiti. The principal or designee shall inform any person being interviewed that the principal or designee is required to keep the details of the interview confidential to the extent allowed by law and that further reports of bullying will become part of the investigation.

When the available information indicates that an infraction may also constitute a civil rights violation, the principal or designee shall also investigate that possible violation and take such disciplinary or other action as may be warranted.

When it is determined that a student has been bullied, cyber-bullied, or hazed, this plan of action should include consideration of what support, counseling, or other assistance the student may need to prevent such mistreatment from adversely affecting the student’s ability to learn and function in the school setting.

The plan of action may include supporting involved students through trauma-informed care practices, if appropriate, as defined in Utah Admin. Rules 

The plan of action may also include positive restorative justice practice action, if permitted. Restorative justice practice is a discipline practice that brings together students, school personnel, school families, and community members to resolve conflicts, address disruptive behaviors, promote positive relationships, and promote healing. An alleged targeted student is not required to participate in a restorative justice practice with an alleged perpetrator. If the principal or designee desires to have a student participate, the principal or designee shall first inform that student’s parent.

If any retaliation occurs, the principal or designee shall take strong responsive action against it, including but not limited to providing assistance to any targeted individual and his or her parent in reporting subsequent problems and new incidents.

The principal or designee shall follow up with parents of all students involved (victim or perpetrator), informing parents when an investigation is concluded, what safety measures will be in place for their child as determined by the investigation, of additional information about the investigation to the extent consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”), and of any available appeal options if a parent disagrees with the resolution of the investigation.

Parental Notification of Incidents—

The school shall notify the parent of a student who is involved in an incident of bullying, hazing, cyber-bullying, abusive conduct, or retaliation (whether as a target or as a perpetrator).

The school is also required to notify and provide suicide prevention information to the parent of a student who threatens suicide. (See Policy FDACE.) In addition, the school shall produce and maintain a record that verifies that the parent was notified of the threats or incidents listed above. The record is a private record for purposes of the Government Records Access and Management Act.

The process for notifying a parent shall consist of:

1. The school principal or designee shall attempt to make personal contact with a parent when the school has notice of a threat or incident listed above. It is recommended that the parent be informed of the threat or incident with two school people present. If personal contact is not possible, the parent may be contacted by phone. A second school person should witness the phone call.
2. Contact with the parent must be documented in a "Verification of Parent Contact Regarding Threat or Incident."

HMK Plan  Bullying, Intimidation, Harassment or Threat

Helen M. Knight Elementary Community is committed to making our school a safe and caring environment for all students. We will treat others with respect and refuse to tolerate bullying of any kind.

Definition: Bullying is deliberate, unjustifiable and unprovoked use of aggressive behavior. It includes actions that cause physical, emotional or mental hurt to the victim and actions that violate another person’s freedom or rights. 

• Bullying is intentionally hurtful
• Bullying is a repeated experience
• Bullying involves an inequity of power

Bullying behaviors may include verbal, physical, or psychological bullying. Bullying behaviors include the following but are not limited to:

 Bullying may take a variety of forms but generally implies aggressive behavior that is intended to cause distress and harm, exists in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power and strength, and is often repeated over time. However, it need not be repeated; bullying can be found based upon a single incident meeting the definition set forth here.

• Hurting someone physically by hitting, kicking, tripping or pushing
• Stealing or damaging another person’s things
• Ganging up on someone
• Teasing someone in a hurtful way
• Using put downs or “slurs” such as insulting someone’s race or making fun of someone for being a boy or a girl. 
• Touching or showing private areas of the body
• Spreading rumors or untruths about someone
• Leaving someone out on purpose, or trying to get other kids not to play with someone
• Verbal or written communication encouraging someone to harm themselves (i.e. “go kill yourself.”)
• Cyber communication, such as “chat”, “socials” “direct message”  or gaming live stream in which students use threats, intimidation, harassment or bullying behaviors.

Stop, Talk, Walk

Stop, Walk, Talk is a prevention-centered school wide system and HMK Elementary. It is adapted from the “Bully Prevention” section of the PBIS curriculum, https://www.pbis.org/resource/bully-prevention-manual-elementary-level.

In the fall, students and staff attend the first Bully Prevention assembly to present the school how to identify and properly handle situations of harassment and bullying. In more serious situations, children learn how to appropriately report incidents to empower their own safety and help maintain the safety and security of their peers. They learn helpful hand signals to remember the bully prevention system steps and protocols. The protocols are periodically reviewed with children during classroom instruction and Wellness. A second assembly is held in the early Spring to revisit this content. 

There are three key elements to the Stop, Walk, Talk system.

1. Stop! Students discover the importance of making a direct request to “stop” . They understand, where possible and appropriate, how to share how the action made them feel. This is a critical step that communicates to the bully that what they are doing is not okay.
2. Walk! Students learn that when they feel they have been bullied and the situation is not improving, they need to “walk” away. This is an important step to terminate bullying or harassment.
3. Talk! Students are taught to recognize when and how to effectively take action by reporting concerns to an adult. This involves the use of “talk” forms. At times, reporting to an adult can be very challenging and an adult may not be immediately available. Talk forms aid with this purpose. It also helps to have these incidents documented for record.

At HMK, students and adults team together to maintain a safe and respectful environment conducive to learning. HMK maintains the goal of a safe environment where bullying is not tolerated. Even with a school-wide prevention system, incidents and issues will still occur. However, the Stop, Walk, Talk system increases harassment awareness, empowers the victim, and reduces the number of incidents in school. Interventions and progressive consequences with bullying are handled with the school administrators and behavioral coaches.