Last Modified: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 12:08 a.m.
MANATEE COUNTY - Johnny Salgado can laugh it off when his friends call him "midget."
--Defines bullying as any behavior intended to harm a student or group of students emotionally or physically, including name calling, teasing, rumor spreading, intimidation, stalking and physical attacks.
--Gives principals the authority to punish students who use their own computers and cell phones to bully or harass other students away from school.
--Sets penalties for bullying, including counseling, suspension and expulsions.
--Requires schools to investigate allegations of bullying within 24 hours and to notify the parents of victims and students involved within 24 hours of that.
click to enlarge Seventh-grader Maria Abilez listens to Wilhoit as he talks to students. Wilhoit said that a new, stricter school district policy will make it easier for students to report when they are bullied, even if it is cyber-bullying done outside of school.
But it is different when the likable 11-year-old Lee Middle School student hears it from other students as he walks around the school.
Name calling, threats and intimidation have always been a problem in schools, but in recent years technology has made it even easier for students to abuse others and tougher for teachers and principals to prevent.
Known as cyber-bullying, it includes sending insulting text messages to a student's phone or posting hurtful rumors about a student on the Internet.
Now district officials are cracking down on the problem with a new bullying and harassment policy. The new rules sets penalties for students who bully and require school administrators to investigate alleged bullying within 10 days.
The policy, adopted by School Board members Wednesday, gives school officials authority to punish students who use their own computers and cell phones to bully or harass other students, even if they do it away from school.
"If people use the Internet in a way that disrupts learning in school and make people feel bad, guess who is in trouble? The person sitting there at home typing away," said Skip Wilhoit, district safe schools coordinator, who helped draft the new rules. "Don't think you can sit there thinking you are anonymous."
Manatee's new policy is being introduced to comply with the Jeffrey Johnson Stand Up for All Students Act, named after a Cape Coral student who killed himself after being the victim of bullying by a classmate.
It requires school districts to draft and file policies on how they deal with bullying with the state by Dec. 1. That must include procedures for reporting and investigating acts of bullying or harassment, and details of when parents of victims and perpetrators will be notified.
Almost one third of Manatee County students say they are regularly bullied, according to a recent district survey completed by 8,500 students.
Repeated bullying can often cause low self-esteem and falling grades in victims. In some cases the results are depression and even suicide.
"It's a huge problem," said Wilhoit, who added that the new rules would make it easier for students to report bullying and give principals clearer guidelines for dealing with cyber bullying.
"It's been tough for students to take action when kids are doing things at home," he said.
But some experts say that anti-bullying policies are only effective if vigorously enforced in and out of schools.
"The majority of students see the anti-bullying policies as hypocritical because they notice teachers and other school personnel doing nothing to intervene when someone is being verbally abused or sexually harassed," said Ellen deLara, a Syracuse University professor.
District budget cuts have made it tougher for school staff to enforce bullying rules, said Lee Middle School guidance counselor Carol Anne Celona.
A survey of students at the school showed that many students said they would feel safer in hallways if there were more teachers and staff patrolling between classes.
But as a result of budget cuts, the school has less guidance counselors, who are usually the first adult students will turn to for help, and less assistant principals.
"We're very understaffed," Celona said. "This is the adult contact that helps prevention."
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