Baldwin County schools, along with all other school districts in the state have toughened up their anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies as required by the Student Harassment Prevention Act that was passed by the Alabama Legislature.

This act was prompted by a influx of bullying related suicides nationwide, including a high school girl who jumped off an interstate overpass near Birmingham earlier this year.

The new policy in place for this school year in Baldwin County will make it easier to report a bullying or harassment incident, and spells out actions against certain groups as harassment, which could result in the student involved getting themselves suspended or expelled. 

All school systems in the state had access to a model policy put out by the state, but one group was markedly absent from the state’s policy that many systems adopted verbatim. The model policy explicitly forbids harassment based on real or perceived disability, race, gender, marital status and religion, but makes no mention of sexual orientation.

Baldwin County Board of Education’s new policy added sexual preference into the fray where many policies statewide are silent on one of the most predominant forms of bullying that school aged children face, violence and slurs related that are aimed towards heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. Terry Wilhite, school spokesman, said “each school system was given a list of items which could be included. We felt it was necessary to be as complete as possible in defining any and all potential areas where bullying or harassment might occur.”

Patrice Harris, who oversees guidance counselors for the BCBE and led the process to get the new policy adopted said that usually students in Baldwin County are well behaved, “but this policy exists to send a clear message to those who may be thinking about bullying another student.” This year there are 28,300 students enrolled in 45 Baldwin County schools. According to Wilhite, there were just a handful of cases “of blatant bullying last year, because overall, our student body is very respectful and courteous.”

Wilhite said “harassment, often referred to as bullying, won’t be tolerated in Baldwin County Public Schools, and a new anti-harassment policy has been approved by the Board of Education to ensure that stance is extremely clear.”

The BCBE’s new policy spells out what kind of behavior is expected of students. The policy states “students are expected to treat other students with courtesy, respect, and dignity and to comply with the Student Code of Conduct. Students are expected and required (1) to comply with the requirements of law, policy, regulation, and rules prohibiting harassment, violence or intimidation; (2) to refrain from inflicting or threatening to inflict violence, injury, or damage to the person or property of another student; and (3) to refrain from placing another student in fear of being subjected to violence, injury, or damage when such actions or threats are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any personal characteristic of the student…”

The new policy defines harassment as any pattern of behavior that could include: “placing a student in reasonable fear of hard to his or her person or damage to his or her property; have the effect of substantially interfering with the educational performance, opportunities, or benefits of a student; have the effect of substantially disrupting or interfering with the orderly operation of the school; have the effect of creating a hostile environment in the school, on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored function; and have the effect of being sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for a student.”

Any students who harass. intimidate, threaten to or commit violent acts, including written, electronic, verbal or physical acts, will be subject to punishment under the new policy that could include suspension and expulsion.

Last week Foley Middle School held an anti-bullying assembly for all students. Students watched a DVD about harassment and signed the new anti-bullying contract.

Harris urges students and parents to report any incidents that they feel may be harassment to school officials, and law officials if necessary. If a student or a parent would like to report harassment official complaint forms are available at counselor and principal’s offices and online ac bcbe.org. The new harassment policy is also available online at bcbe.org.

All of the following advice comes from The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Stop Bullying Now Campaign.

Advice for dealing with bullies

Avoid the bully as much as possible.

Practice standing and walking confidently.

Ask an adult for help.

Try not to cry, or show the bully that their actions are effecting you.

Don’t let a bully make you feel bad.

Tell the bully how their actions make you feel.

Stick with your friends, or stay near teachers and other adults.

What to do if your child is being bullied

Focus on your child.

Be supportive and try to gather as much information as possible about the incidents of bullying.

Don’t tell your child to just ignore the bullying, that may translate as a lack of caring on your part to your child.

Do not blame the child that is being bullied.

Empathize with your child.

Do not encourage your child to physically retaliate.

Contact the child’s principal, teacher, or fill out a complaint form that can be found at bcbe.org.

Refrain from contacting the parents of the bully.

Some warning signs that a child is being bullied

-Child comes home with torn, damaged or missing pieces of clothing, books or other belongings.

-Has unexplained cuts, bruises and scratches.

-Has very few, if any friends.

-Seems afraid to go to school.

-Loses interest suddenly in school work.

-Appears sad, moody, teary or depressed when he or she comes home from school, or complains frequently of headaches and stomach aches to avoid going to school.