Mahwah
September 15, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES
IV • Page 7
District reminds all: Bullies unwelcome in schools
by Frank J. McMahon As the Mahwah public schools reopened for the new academic year, all school staff, pupils, parents, and legal guardians were reminded that the Mahwah Board of Education has a policy that prohibits harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Policy 5512.01 was adopted in 2007, and it explains that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for pupils to learn and achieve high academic standards, and harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, disrupts a pupil’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its pupils in a safe environment. The policy also commends those school administrators, faculty, staff, and volunteers who demonstrate appropriate behavior by treating others with civility and respect and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation, or bullying, since pupils learn by example. The policy defines harassment, intimidation, or bullying as any gesture, written, verbal, or physical act, or any electronic communication that takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, or on a school bus and meets certain criteria. For instance, it is motivated by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability; or, by any other distinguishing characteristic. Also, if a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, that the act or acts will have the effect of harming a pupil or damaging the pupil’s property, or placing a pupil in reasonable fear of harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property; or it has the effect of insult-
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ing or demeaning any pupil or group of pupils in such a way as to cause substantial disruption in, or substantial interference with, the orderly operation of the school. Electronic communication is defined in the policy as communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager. The policy states that acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying may also involve a pupil exercising power and control over another pupil, either in isolated incidents of intimidation and harassment, or through patterns of harassing or intimidating behavior. The policy complies with the provisions of state law concerning conduct away from school grounds, and the district’s pupil code of student conduct, but the consequences imposed by this policy for acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that occur off school grounds only may be exercised when it is reasonably necessary for the pupil’s physical or emotional safety and well-being or for reasons relating to the safety and well-being of other pupils, staff, or school grounds, or when the conduct that is the subject of a proposed consequence materially and substantially interferes with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school. All acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that include the use of school property, such as school computers and other electronic or wireless communication devices, are governed by the provisions of state law, regardless of whether the subject or recipient of the bullying is on or off school property. The school board points out in the policy that pupils are expected to conduct themselves in keeping with welfare (continued on page 25)
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