Legal Guide by Chelsea Spinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v en-us 2021-03-08 15:12:55 UTC 2021-03-13 22:40:29 UTC hello@padlet.com cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1284135108 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.]]> 2021-03-08 19:38:15 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1284135108 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1284331125 2021-03-08 20:20:21 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1284331125 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1288060492 2021-03-09 15:22:07 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1288060492 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1288198936 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. ]]> 2021-03-09 15:43:51 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1288198936 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289474231 2021-03-09 19:14:37 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289474231 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289586544
  • 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.
    • ]]>     2021-03-09 19:35:56 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289586544     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289961455
  • 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.
    • ]]>     2021-03-09 21:06:14 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1289961455     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1293392524 2021-03-10 15:19:40 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1293392524 Texas Education Code 37.0832 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1293396021 (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

    ]]>     2021-03-10 15:20:15 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1293396021     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1294538926 2021-03-10 18:33:41 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1294538926 The Fourteenth Amendment cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1294540071 (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. ]]>     2021-03-10 18:33:54 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1294540071     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1298955196 2021-03-11 16:36:55 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1298955196 Texas Administrative Code 21.451 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1298965523 (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

    ]]>     2021-03-11 16:38:36 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1298965523     A.11.a Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1303329194 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


    ]]>     2021-03-12 16:48:37 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1303329194     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1303458646 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. ]]> 2021-03-12 17:15:33 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1303458646 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1304620922 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. ]]> 2021-03-13 00:25:01 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1304620922 cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1305808314
  • 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.
    • ]]>     2021-03-13 18:56:08 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1305808314     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1305892660 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.

    ]]>     2021-03-13 20:01:31 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1305892660     cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1306042053 2021-03-13 22:22:05 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1306042053 Brown v. Board of Education cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1306042139 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.
    ]]>     2021-03-13 22:22:11 UTC https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1306042139     Academy Independent School District (2020). Academy ISD employee handbook. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/chelsea.spinn/Downloads/AISD%20Employee%20Handbook%202020-2021%20(2).pdf cspinn https://padlet.com/cspinn/8hpoja6lyx0cv14v/wish/1306050307 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. 


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