Applying the
Washington
State HIB Law
in Your School
BIG thank-you to SMILE
 thank
you to Christie Toribara, founder
 SMILE funded this workshop
 [email protected]
 SMILE
is an educational organization
working on building resiliency and
education on at-risk youth issues.
learning goals
 know
how bullying and cyberbullying are
defined
 know what bullying looks like: research,
data and the law
 understand the role of the compliance
officer and district responsibilities
 know about effective K-12 strategies and
resources
is this why you are here?
 what
 how
else do you want to know?
can we support you in the future?
what does bullying and
cyberbullying look like in
your district?
defining bullying
and
cyberbullying
definition of harassment,
intimidation and bullying
WA state law: RCW 28A.300.285
any intentional electronic, written, verbal, or physical act, including but not
limited to one shown to be motivated by any characteristic in RCW
9A.36.080(3), or other distinguishing characteristics, when the intentional
electronic, written, verbal, or physical act:
(a) physically harms a student or damages the student's property; or
(b) has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education; or
(c) is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or
threatening educational environment; or
(d) has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the
school.
operative language
 intentionally
 interfering
 persistent
harmful or hurtful
with education
and repeated
simplified definition
bullying is when a student or students
are being exposed, repeatedly and
over-time, to negative actions on the
part of one or more students.
harassment
 subcategory
of bullying
 based on identity:





race
religion
sexual orientation
gender
gender identity
bullying versus other conflict
other conflict:
between friends
spontaneous/occasional
accidents/not planned
not serious
equal emotional reaction
not for control
often sense of remorse
bullying:
not friends/power imbalance
repeated over time
intentional
physical/emotional harm
unequal emotional response
seeking control/possession
no remorse
behaviors/expressions
behaviors that do
 slurs
not rise to the level
 rumors
of h,i,b may still be
 jokes
 innuendos
 demeaning
 drawings
 pranks
 threats
comments
prohibited by other
district policies or
building, classroom
or program rules.
bullying: what is it?
 indirect
bullying
 direct
bullying
 sexual
bullying
 cyberbullying
cyberbullying is bullying
 through
the use of technology such as:
cell phones (texting)
 online
communities and social
media(web-pages, blogs, chats, tweets,
discussion boards, gaming)
cyberbullying (cont)
a
form of bullying but unique in many
ways
 vulnerable troubled youth and are often
vulnerable and troubled – online
 anonymity and empathy-free
 basic internet safety guidance teaches a
simplistic and ineffective rule: “do not
provide personal information online”
cyberbullying (cont)
 young
people’s lives are online in
increasingly mobile and social ways
 at
schools that ban mobile devices, 63%
of students still use them
 social
networking accounts for nearly ¼ of
all time US adults spend online.
cyberbullying (cont)
 surveys
show that students want schools
to allow for increased use of online
resources and technology
 63%
of students in grades 6-12 want online
text books that allow them to
communicate with classmates and nearly
1/3 said they would communicate with
teachers
issues with social media for SEL
external forces in developing strong healthy
relationships:
 social
expectations and values
 recognizing that action has caused harm
 social disapproval
 negative consequences
why addressing bully
prevention is important!
 it’s
the law
 it’s
the right thing to do
 long-term
negative effects on students,
climate and academic achievement
research, data and the law
what the research tells us
bullying, cyberbullying, and victimization
linked to:
 dropping
out of high school
 contact with juvenile justice system
 loneliness, depression, low self esteem
 self harm, suicide, homicide
impacts of bullying
 absences
and truancy
 lowered self-esteem
 headaches and illness
 depression
 anxiety and emotional distress
 poor learning
 suicide and homicide
legal considerations
 search
 free
and seizure: 4th amendment
speech: 1st amendment
 district
 other
liability
considerations
substantially interfering with a
student’s education
consider targeted students:
 grades
 attendance
 demeanor
 interaction
with peers
 participation in activities
being bullied in the past 30 days
% students reporting c’s, d’s and f’s
relationship between lower
grades (C’s, D’s and F’s) and
bullying
bullying and harassment
where do i go for information?
district responsibilities
and
the compliance officer
hib requirements for districts
 adopt
model policies and procedures (by
august 1, 2011)
 appoint

a compliance officer
the compliance officer list is posted on
OSPI’s website in the safety center
compliance officer
receive copies of all
formal and informal
complaints and ensure
policy implementation
compliance officer duties
 serve
as the district’s primary contact for
hib
 provide support/assistance to principal in
resolving complaints
 receive copies of all incident report forms,
discipline referral forms and letters to
parents providing outcomes of
investigations
compliance officer duties
(cont)
 be
familiar with student information
system and use to identify patterns of
behavior and areas of concern
 ensure
implementation of policy and
procedure
 assess
training needs of staff and students
and ensure annual fall training of staff and
annual, age appropriate training for
students
compliance officer duties
(cont)
 provide
OSPI with notification of policy or
procedures updates on an annual basis
 development
of safety plans for a
targeted student
incident report form
available from OSPI
safety center
incident report form
 may
be used by students, families or staff
 all students, parents, and staff should
know where to easily find the incident
report form, how to complete the form
and where to return it to report hib
incident report form
3



ways to report
non-confidential
confidential
anonymous
dissemination of hib information
policy and procedure, incident reporting
form, and compliance officer contact
information:
 posted
on district website
 posted and available at each school
building
 uploaded to OSPI’s EDS system
 annual statement summarizing hib
policies/procedures in handbooks
annual statement by
superintendent
summarizes hib policy and procedures, and
placed:



handbooks- staff, students, parents and
volunteers
available at all school buildings and/or
posted at school buildings
staff training requirements
for staff (annually in the fall):



staff roles and responsibilities
monitoring
use of district’s incident report form
staff
includes, but is not limited to…
educators, administrators, counselors,
school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians,
bus drivers, athletic coaches, advisors to
extra curricular activities, classified staff,
substitute and temporary teachers,
volunteers, or paraprofessionals (both staff
and contractors)
prevention strategies
 district
will implement a range of
prevention including individual,
classroom, school and district-level
approaches
 evidence-based,
when possible and
increase social competency, improve
school climate, and eliminate hib in
schools
staff intervention
all staff members shall
intervene when
witnessing or receiving
reports of hib
annual student education
for students (annually):

age appropriate information on hib
recognition and prevention, including copy
of the incident report form or link to webbased form
interventions
remediate impact on targeted student(s),
change perpetrator behavior and restore
positive school climate
counseling
correcting
behavior and
discipline
law
enforcement
referral
investigation timelines
when a principal/designee receives an incident report
form that has reached the unresolved/severe/persistent
threshold, it requires an investigation:
The principal/designee then has 12 school days to
respond:
- 2 school days – to contact families to let them
know;
- 5 school days – from initial complaint or incident
report form to complete the investigation;
- 2 school days - after the completed investigation to
contact families and inform them of the outcome,
and
- within 5 more school days, implement whatever
corrective actions are warranted.
complex bullying incidents
if the investigation is long and complex, it
might take more than 5 days. If that’s the
case, then the district will:
- provide weekly updates for the target family;
- take “reasonable measures” to ensure student safety;
- if necessary, develop a safety plan for the targeted
student, and
- ensure that there is no retaliation against him/her.
retaliation/false allegations
 prohibited
and will result in discipline
 policy violation to threaten or harm
someone for reporting hib
 violation to report false allegations of hib
reporting requirements
 verify
annually, by August 15, to OSPI
through EDS system:




brief summary of policy and procedures
hib programs
hib partnerships and vendors
hib instructional and training materials
k12 strategies
and
resources
best practice prevention
components
 school-wide
component
 classroom component
 on-the-spot intervention, and
 community component
digital safety
 new
media literacy: across all youth safety
sectors
 digital citizenship: components









etiquette
communication
education
access
commerce
responsibility
rights
safety
security
e-rate
 applicants
must enforce a policy of
internet safety and certify compliance
with the purpose of the Children’s Internet
Protection Act (CIPA)
 technology
protection measure
 internet safety policy
 grade
level digital safety education
working with students
knowledge
 what is it
 what will happen
 what you can do
skills
 assertive, not aggressive
 conflict resolution
 being a supportive bystander
 how to react
attitudes
 a culture of acceptance, zero bias, and safety
 cooperation and empathy
 responsibility for own actions
involving parents

ensure that the school is welcoming and safe
know your students and families

educate parents about bullying and cyberbullying

provide and post school policy and procedures

provide cell phone use and internet use policy
and agreement form

community
 train
staff about community issues and
special topics: GBTLQ, bias and culture
 provide
 invite
community education
community guest speakers: suicide
awareness, substance abuse, mental
health, and other risk topics
resources
bullying
 www.GLSEN.org
 www.pacer.org/bullying
 www.stopbullying.gov
cyberbullying
 www.cyberbullying.us
curriculum
 www.cfchildren.org
 www.olweus.org
 www.commonsensemedia.org
 www.netsmartz.org
resources
suicide prevention
 www.yspp.org
books
 No More Bystanders= No More Bullies by
Shona Anderson
 Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to
Know by Sheri Bauman
 Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats by Nancy
Willard
resources
NEWESD staff :
 Astri Zidack [email protected]
 Tricia Hughes [email protected]
OSPI
 Mike Donlin [email protected]
 Safety Center:
www.k12.wa.us/safetycenter