How Santa Monica-Malibu School District Works To Prevent Bullying

SANTA MONICA, CA — October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The campaign aims to bring attention to the bullying problem and involve people nationwide in a conversation on how to create a world safe from bullying.

In the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, bullying prevention is highlighted year-round.

"We take bullying very seriously all year around," Gail Pinsker, SMMUSD's Community and Public Relations Officer told Patch. "Our students are engaged throughout the school year about anti-bullying woven into curriculum and also as assemblies, projects and programs."

SMMUSD follows the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which is the "most researched and best-known bullying prevention program available today," according to the Olweus website. The program is a "whole-school program that has been proven to prevent or reduce bullying throughout a school setting," the website said. SMMUSD also practices Restorative Justice.

The district also has a Comprehensive School Safety Plan, which lays out procedures for bullying prevention, intervention, complaints and investigation, as well as discipline.

Here is the information laid out in the Comprehensive School Safety Plan:

Bullying Prevention

To the extent possible, district and school strategies shall focus on prevention of bullying by establishing clear rules for student conduct and strategies to establish a positive, collaborative school climate. Students shall be informed, through student handbooks and other appropriate means, of district and school rules related to bullying, mechanisms available for reporting incidents or threats, and the consequences for perpetrators of bullying.

The district may provide students with instruction, in the classroom or other educational settings, that promotes effective communication and conflict resolution skills, social skills, character/values education, respect for cultural and individual differences, self-esteem development, assertiveness skills, and appropriate online behavior.

School staff shall receive related professional development, including information about early warning signs of harassing/intimidating behaviors and effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Based on an assessment of bullying incidents at school, the Superintendent or designee may increase supervision and security in areas where bullying most often occurs, such as classrooms, playgrounds, hallways, restrooms, cafeterias.

Intervention

Students are encouraged to notify school staff when they are being bullied or suspect that another student is being victimized. In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall develop means for students to report threats or incidents confidentially and anonymously.

School staff who witness bullying shall immediately intervene to stop the incident when it is safe to do so. (Education Code 234.1) As appropriate, the Superintendent or designee shall notify the parents/guardians of victims and perpetrators. He/she also may involve school counselors, mental health counselors, and/or law enforcement.

Complaints and Investigation

Students may submit to a teacher or administrator a verbal or written complaint of conduct they consider to be bullying. Complaints of bullying shall be investigated and resolved in accordance with site-level grievance procedures specified in AR 5145.7 - Sexual Harassment.

When a student is reported to be engaging in bullying off campus, the Superintendent or designee shall investigate and document the activity and shall identify specific facts or circumstances that explain the impact or potential impact on school activity, school attendance, or the targeted student's educational performance. When the circumstances involve cyberbullying, individuals with information about the activity shall be encouraged to save and print any electronic or digital messages sent to them that they feel constitute cyberbullying and to notify a teacher, the principal, or other employee so that the matter may be investigated.

If the student is using a social networking site or service that has terms of use that prohibit posting of harmful material, the Superintendent or designee also may file a complaint with the Internet site or service to have the material removed.

Discipline

Any student who engages in bullying on school premises, or off campus in a manner that causes or is likely to cause a substantial disruption of a school activity or school attendance, shall be subject to discipline, which may include suspension or expulsion, in accordance with district policies and regulations.

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As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

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