# data[].attributes.body
I created this legal guide as a professional school counselor in order to inform administrators and teachers of the importance in implementing a bullying prevention program and a protocol for bullying in order to reduce bullying cases. I chose this topic because bullying continues to be a growing concern in schools across the country, which sometimes leads to death and suicide among school aged children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found approaches simply focused on bullies are seldom effective, but when there is a schoolwide effort bullying can be reduced by up to 50 percent. Hear how to create a comprehensive schoolwide bully-prevention program focused on promoting a positive school culture and climate. Learn eight components to a comprehensive bully prevention program, including data analysis, student/staff education and awareness, PBIS strategies, critical social skills training and intervention for perpetrators and victims. Download accompanying handouts.

Learning outcomes:
Upon the completion of this webinar participants should be able to:

1. Identify the eight components for the effective implementation of a schoolwide bully-prevention program

2. Define and recognize bullying behaviors

3. Use a schoolwide PBIS program to promote the pro-social behaviors of the bystander population

Speaker:
Brent Burnham
Original air date: May 22, 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found approaches simply focused on bullies are seldom effective, but when there is a schoolwide effort bullying can be reduced by up to 50 percent. Hear how to create a comprehensive schoolwide bully-prevention program focused on promoting a positive school culture and climate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Court: Parents of Child Who Killed Himself Can Sue Educators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The parents of an 8-year-old student who killed himself after being bullied can move forward with a lawsuit against the Cincinnati school district.

# data[].attributes.body
A webinar from the American School Counselor Association presented by Brent Burnham gives educators tips on how to create a schoolwide bullying prevention program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that a schoolwide effort to end bullying can reduce bullying incidents by up to 50 percent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Colorado lawmakers voted to require the state's Department of Education to craft new anti-bullying policies on the same day they killed a bill that would have given up to $10,000 to school districts for suicide prevention training.

While some caution against linking suicide to bullying, more anti-bullying tools are needed, reports . Despite Colorado already having an anti-bullying policy in place for schools, some experts say that the way bullying is handled in schools today isn't working.

Lawmakers who voted no on the suicide prevention bill cited several reasons, including concern over how the $300,000 to fund school grants would have been raised and a belief that the issue should be handled by family and community members instead.

One in five children report being bulled every year in school, from being shoved or tripped to being called names or made the focus of rumors, according to the National Center for Education Statistics . And these numbers only reflect students who come forward. Too many stay silent, frightened to ask for help.

Yet suicide rates among teens are rising, particularly among girls ages 15 to 19, with 305 reported in 1975 to 524 reported in 2015, according to a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

Weaving suicide prevention and anti-bullying tools into health classes - or even school wide - can allow curriculum administrators to bring more awareness to this issue, while also arming educators with tools to help and support students.

SEL training can also build inclusion and respect within classrooms. While there has been some pushback to this curriculum , modeling emotional intelligence in classrooms can help students develop more empathy with each other, equipping them with better tools to express their feelings.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How schools can weave anti-bullying, suicide prevention training into curriculum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Colorado lawmakers voted to require the state's Department of Education to craft new anti-bullying policies on the same day they killed a bill that would have given up to $10,000 to school districts for suicide prevention training. While some caution against linking suicide to bullying, more anti-bullying tools are needed, reports .

# data[].attributes.body
Every year, one in five children report being bullied in school according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that suicide rates among teens continue to rise.

If schools were able to integrate suicide prevention and anti-bullying tools into their daily classroom curriculum school wide, students would be provided with more support to better deal with bullying issues.

# data[].attributes.body
Eight year old Gabriel Taye killed himself after being bullied persistently over the course of two years.

Gabriel's parents claim that school officials were negligent in reporting the seriousness of the bullying attacks and even failed to inform them when some attacks took place.

The failure to report the bullying attacks accurately prevented Gabriel's parents from fully understanding how bad their son was being bullied.

The federal appeals panel ruled that Gabriel's parents would be allowed to move forward with their lawsuit against the school district.

If there had been a school wide bullying prevention program or proper bullying reporting protocols, Gabriel's suicide could have been prevented.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Texas Constitution and Statutes - Statutes By Date

# data[].attributes.body
(Tex. Educ. Code § 38.254)

Each school district in Texas should create and adopt a bullying policy that:

does not allow the bullying of a student

does not allow anyone to retaliate against someone who reports the bullying act or a victim of bullying

has a set of procedures in place to notify parents/guardians of the victim and student responsible for bullying in a timely manner

provides intervention and counseling services for the student responsible for bullying and the victim

has procedures in place for reporting and investigating cases of bullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fourteenth Amendment | Browse | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Constitution Annotated provides a legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution based on a comprehensive review of Supreme Court case law.

# data[].attributes.body
(U.S. Const. Amend. XIV)
The fourteenth amendment states that every person has the right to equal protection of the laws and the government can intervene when the state or school district does not provide adequate equal protection for their students. Bullying behavior that does not allow students to properly benefit or participate in their education is a violation of this amendment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(b-1) A superintendent or director of a school district, district of innovation, open-enrollment charter school, regional education service center, or shared services arrangement shall complete an investigation of an educator that involves evidence that the educator may have engaged in misconduct described by Subsection (b)(2)(A) or (A-1), despite the educator's resignation from employment before completion of the investigation.

# data[].attributes.body
(21 TAC § 451)
The Texas Administrative code states that school districts must provide staff development to educators that includes training on:

suicide prevention

mental health issues and recognizing signs

strategies for cultivating positive relationships between students

how grief and trauma affect behavior

intervention, prevention, and reporting strategies for incidents of bullying

# data[].attributes.headline
A.11.a Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse

# data[].attributes.subject
A.11.a Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse

# data[].attributes.body
American School Counselor Association (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
According to the American School Counselor Association Code of Ethics, school counselors are responsible for reporting all incidents of bullying as well as providing counseling services to victims and the perpetrator. If there was a schoolwide bullying prevention program in place, there would be less cases of bullying to report.

# data[].attributes.body
My personal connection to the Legal and Ethical standards will focus more on the educator side rather than the student side. I was not personally affected by bullying as a student, but I have dealt with bullying cases as a teacher. The main goal that I have set for myself as a school counselor is to help create an environment where all students feel safe, included, and loved in order to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. I feel that by following and understanding these laws, I will be able to meet my goal and make my school a better place. These laws on bullying helped me to understand that by law all students deserve to be treated equally, that schools should create and adopt bullying prevention and intervention strategies, and that schools should also have specific policies in place when it comes to reporting bullying.

# data[].attributes.body
Treat all students fairly and equally, so that all students have the full benefits of a proper education.

Create a set bullying policy that staff members follow precisely each time a bullying situation occurs.

Create an anonymous bullying reporting system in place so that students feel comfortable reporting bullying incidents.

Fully investigate any type of bullying incident that is reported and report any findings back to the parents or guardians of everyone involved.

Provide resources and training to students, parents, and staff members to know exactly what bullying behavior does and does not consist of.

Adopt a school wide bullying prevention program that can reduce bullying behavior.

Provide counseling services to students who are involved in the bullying cases as either the bully or the victim.

# data[].attributes.body
1) Bullying is a very sensitive subject in the field of education, and the word "bullying"  has turned into a buzz word when it comes to students having conflicts. Parents are always very quick to say that their child is being bullied, when in fact it could just be a one time occurrence of bad behavior. There can be great legal consequences for the school district if the case actually turns out to be bullying and the school district did not take proper action , and there can also be other detrimental consequences such as serious injury or suicide of the student involved.

2) Some best practices when it comes to bullying:

Students, teachers, and staff members should be trained to be able to recognize the true signs of bullying.

Schools should have a policy in place that everyone follows when it comes to bullying prevention, reporting, and intervention.

School staff should work together with parents and students to create an environment where bullying is not tolerated at all.

3) Cyber-bullying is becoming more of an emerging issue as we rely more heavily on technology. Also, most instances of cyberbullying are taking place outside of school hours due to more and more students getting social media accounts. While it is not the school's responsibility to monitor students' social media accounts, most of the time the bullying will take place at school as well. School officials will more than likely have more pressure put on them to monitor cases of bullying that are also taking place on social media.
4) I interviewed Kelli Schwake who is the assistant principal at Academy Elementary School.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The path to equality has been anything but smooth. It's taken courage and dedication by everyday people coming together for a common goal to carry the country toward true equality. Parents, teachers, secretaries, welders, ministers and students drove their communities, and the country along with them, toward justice in a series of often unsteady turns leading to the Brown v. Board Decision. Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The path to equality has been anything but smooth. It's taken courage and dedication by everyday people coming together for a common goal to carry the country toward true equality. Parents, teachers, secretaries, welders, ministers and students drove their communities, and the country along with them, toward justice in a series of often unsteady turns leading to the Brown v.

# data[].attributes.body
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954)

The racial segregation of students is unconstitutional.

Students were not allowed to be treated differently based on their skin color.

# data[].attributes.body
The Academy ISD Employee Handbook states that all employees are required to report student complaints of bullying to campus administrators. I chose this policy because it does show that the district is requiring that all staff members are to report any complaints of bullying that occur, even including complaints against cyber bullying.