Bullying

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1. Response to Jordon

As an educator in that situation there would be consequences given out to the students that were highly disrespectful to the students with flagged shirts. Racial slurs and jokes to students that are more than likely from a new culture is unacceptable even if the kids were from the same culture as the bully, there still would be no exception or toleration of this behavior. According to Amendment XIV “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Law School, C. 2020). This law is one that relates to the situation because no child should be deprived of life and their own liberty. Even though it may be from another country there still should be some type of respect. The offending party will be taken to the administrators immediately. The students with the shirts will be taken to the counselor immediately.

1. Response to Lynnette

Bullying within our schools should not be tolerated. As a mother who had a son that was bullied severely, I believe that teachers, staff and administration must be provided with ways to properly handle bullying within our school districts.

The school district where I work has a policy in place for bullying.

“District 8 has zero tolerance for bullying. No person, including district students, staff members or volunteers shall engage in bullying behavior. All incidents will be taken seriously. Consequences will be administered in compliance with School Board Policy ACEA and the District Wide Behavior Plan. Police involvement will be pursued in cases where deemed appropriate” (Williams County School District 8, 2020, p. 13).

Within this policy is a definition of what bullying is and examples for students to keep in mind. Our principal goes over bullying with our students at the beginning of every year in a school wide assembly.

A key to implementing a good bullying plan is to make sure every student understands the policy. At our school we have a box available for students to anonymously report bullying if they are not comfortable with talking to a teacher. This box is used as a last resort. We encourage students to find a trusted adult and build relationships with each student, so they do feel comfortable coming to an adult and reporting the bullying.

In the situation mentioned in our discussion question, the students that are making the racial slurs would move immediately to the referral step on our discipline plan. I would write out the referral and immediately send them to our Dean of Students. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969), the Supreme Court ruled against the school stating that the students were not aware that wearing certain clothing would cause a disruption in class (Whitted & Takiff, 2018). The students in the discussion question wore their shirts in support of what they believe in, with no knowledge that they would be bullied nor disrupt class.

In the case of the students who were being bullied, I would offer support in any way possible. I would assure that they have done nothing wrong. If needed, they would be referred to our school counselor. Using the situation as a teachable moment for all students is important. When doing this, it is important though to not name students nor the exact incident in order for their not to be further embarrassment or feelings of inadequacy among the students who were bullied.

1. Response to Megan

According to Gjelten (2019), school staff can only search a student’s cell phone If they have reasonable suspicion to believe that they will find misconduct. This is a tricky topic though, because there is a lot that comes into play. First, how old is the student? Is the name on the message another student? Is it only sexually explicit words, or are photos involved? If the student was of an appropriate age and it seems the message was with another student, and it seems normal for students that age, I would let it go. However, if the messages seemed sexually explicit as well as threatening, )ex. threatening to leak photos/personal information) I would have a conversation with the student as well as talk to my supervisor. Because my students would be minors, I would feel the need to report that. I would personally not search the phone any further in this scenario, but I would let the higher ups handle this situation how they saw fit. Now I gave them reasonable suspicion, so if they want to search it that is on them, but I know that I at least did my part by reporting it.

Gjelten, E. A. (2019, February 5). Cell Phone Use in Schools: When Can Teachers Confiscate or Search Students’ Devices? Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/research/education-law/how-do-search-and-seizure-rules-apply-to-students-phones-and-other-electronic-devices.html

1. Response to Mark \

This creates many problems on the surface. The sexual nature would depend on the age of the student and the age of the person the messages came from. If it’s consensual and they are both of age it may not matter. If one of them is a minor, then it becomes a bigger issue and there may be pictures involved. If caught students can be criminally charged and labeled a sex offender. Student often claim that it happened off campus so schools can’t do anything. That is actually incorrect. Schools do have jurisdiction and can in fact take action. “In D.J.M. v. Hannibal Public School District the court ruled the off-campus nature of the student speech was no longer a guaranteed shield against disciplinary action.” (Beyond the Schoolhouse Gate: Students’ First Amendment Speech Rights in the Digital Age, 2013) Students don’t have the right to carry sexual content or pictures on their phone while at school even if it was done off campus. Not only would the phone be confiscated, and parents would have to come pick it up from school. The student would also get counseling to make sure they understand what they are in possession of and the consequences if they get caught.

References

Beyond the Schoolhouse Gate: Students’ First Amendment Speech Rights in the Digital Age. (2013, September). Clearing House, pp. 174-178.