Politics & Government
New School Bullying Laws Take Effect this Fall
In response to new federal and state guidelines, SPS is bolstering its bullying laws and focusing on school climate for the upcoming year.
On July 27, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed new legislation requiring schools statewide to take a comprehensive approach to identifying and preventing bullying of students. Stamford Public Schools will begin reviewing its own bullying policies to become effective in the upcoming school year, said SPS Director of Student Support Services Mike Meyer to the Board of Education Tuesday evening.
The new legislation, An Act Concerning the Strengthening of School Bullying, requires schools to explicitly define cyber-bullying, appoint a go-to person in the school for bullying complaints, know when to intervene if bullying occurs off school grounds, train all staff and faculty, collect data to assess the level of bullying in schools, and focus more closely on school climate.
Connecticut’s law aligns with recommendations set forth by the U.S. Department of Education last fall. States nationwide are following suit.
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Meyer said Stamford’s existing policies and initiatives focused on school culture would help this transition be relatively seamless. “What’s great about Stamford is we’ve been future thinking [in our policies] and our Strategic District Improvement plan has an area about school culture, and that can be our vehicle for these new policies,” said Meyer.
“Over the last two years, Mike Meyers and his staff have done a great deal of work and research on bullying and this new initiative aligns nicely with the district improvement plan,” said Acting Superintendent Winifred Hamilton.
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According to Hamilton, the new law may clear up some confusion surrounding who should handle bullying incidents and when to intervene. The new law appoints a specific go-to person for bullying incidents but asks that all staff members intervene immediately when they observe bullying.
“Some people may say, ‘It’s not my job, it’s the teacher’s job, or the administrator’s job,’ but it’s all of our jobs to safeguard students and make sure they’re not victim to anybody’s abuse or behavior.”
Board President Polly Rauh said the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education has a list districts with best practices for bullying policies that SPS will review while it prepares its new bullying regulations. The new policies will be discussed at a board of education meeting held later this month.
