Harassment, intimidation, or bullying behavior by any student/school personnel in the District is strictly prohibited, and such conduct may result in disciplinary action, including suspension and/or expulsion from school. "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, in accordance with House Bill 276, mean any intentional written, verbal, graphic or physical acts including electronically transmitted acts i.e., Internet, cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or wireless hand-held device, either overt or covert, by a student or group of students toward other students/school personnel with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure, threaten, ridicule or humiliate. Such behaviors are prohibited on or immediately adjacent to school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, on school-provided transportation or at any official school bus stop that a reasonable person under the circumstances should know will have the effect of:

"Harassment, intimidation or bullying," means any intentional written or electronically transmitted, verbal, graphic, or physical act that a student or group of students exhibited toward other particular student more than once and the behavior both:

In evaluating whether conduct constitutes harassment, intimidation or bullying, special attention should be paid to the words chosen or the actions taken, whether such conduct occurred in front of others or was communicated to others, how the perpetrator interacted with the victim, and the motivation, either admitted or appropriately inferred.

A school-sponsored activity shall mean any activity conducted on or off school property (including school buses and other school-related vehicles) that is sponsored, recognized or authorized by the Board of Education.

This prohibition against harassment, intimidation or bullying shall be included in any student handbooks and in any District publications that state the standards of conduct for students and in employee training materials. Students, parents or guardians and school personnel may make complaints of conduct that they consider to be harassment, intimidation and/or bullying by verbal report to a teacher, school administrator, or other school personnel. Such complaints shall be reasonably specific as to the actions giving a suspicion of harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, including person(s) involved, number of times and places of the alleged conduct, the target of the prohibited behavior(s), and the names of any potential student or staff witness. A school staff member or administrator who receives a complaint shall promptly document the complaint in writing, including all information provided. This written report by the school staff member and/or administrator shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal.

Students who make complaints as set forth above may request that their name be maintained in confidence by the school staff member(s) and administrator(s) who receive the complaint. The anonymous complaints shall be reviewed and reasonable action will be taken to address the situation, to the extent such action may be taken that (1) does not disclose the source of the complaint, and (2) is consistent with the due process rights of the student(s) alleged to have committed acts of harassment, intimidation and/or bullying.

Teachers and other school staff, who witness acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying, shall promptly notify the building principal of the event observed, and shall promptly file a written report.

Teachers and other school staff who receive student or parent reports of suspected harassment, intimidation, and bullying shall promptly notify the principal.

School personnel should find opportunities to educate students about harassment, intimidation and bullying and help eliminate such prohibited behaviors through class discussions, counseling, and reinforcement of socially appropriate behavior. School personnel shall intervene promptly whenever observing student conduct that has the purpose or effect of ridiculing, humiliating or intimidating other student/school personnel.

The principal shall be promptly notified of any formal or informal complaint of suspected harassment, intimidation or bullying. Under the direction of the building principal, all complaints shall be investigated promptly. A written report of the investigation shall be prepared when the investigation is complete. Such report shall include findings of fact, a determination of whether acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying were verified, and a recommendation for intervention, including disciplinary action.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a student making an informal complaint has requested anonymity, the investigation of such complaint shall be limited as is appropriate in view of the anonymity of the complaint.

Verified acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying shall result in an intervention by the building principal to ensure that the prohibition against harassment, intimidation or bullying behavior is enforced and prohibited behavior will cease.

When verified acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying are identified early and/or when such verified acts do not reasonably require a disciplinary response, students may be counseled.

When acts of harassment, intimidation and bullying are verified and a disciplinary response is warranted, students are subject to the disciplinary consequences.

In and out-of-school suspension may be imposed only after informing the accused perpetrator of the reasons for the proposed suspension and giving the individual an opportunity to respond.

Revised 4/14/08