Responding to student harassment: institutional policies and practices

Responding to Student Harassment

Student harassment is one of the major issues in today’s schools and requires the attention of school principals, administrators, and staff. The school’s administration should establish measures for preventing and dealing with student harassment. This is critical because legal issues involving student-on-student harassment are usually extremely fact-specific and differ widely. Julia’s claim is an example of a student-on-student harassment case that needs to be addressed by the school administration. This paper examines Julia’s harassment case relating to an incident in which she was emailed a Facebook page with her photo and gun crosshairs over her face.

Investigating Julia’s Claim Regarding the Facebook Page

While Julia does not know the creator of the Facebook page, the school should investigate the claim. This is primarily because the claim is a form of cyberbullying, which can be harmful and is regarded worse than in-person bullying (Benbow, 2014). In addition, the claim should be investigated because it’s a potential threat to Julia’s life. Investigating the claim would entail using the school’s anti-cyberbullying policy to determine the necessary course of action (Salinas et al., 2013). Some potential actions would include taking a screenshot or a printout of the page, talking to her friends to identify the perpetrator, and communicating to her parents. Failure to investigate the claim could have significant impacts on Julia and the school as it could result in low self-esteem, lower grades, resistance to attend classes, poor interactions between students, and even mental health issues.

Course of Action if the Perpetrator is a Known Student

If the perpetrator of the cyberbullying incident is found to be a known student at the school who created the page through his home computer, the school should carry out relevant disciplinary action based on its policy and exiting laws. This could include informal disciplinary action or calling in the relevant law enforcement authorities to address the matter depending on the state laws. The involvement of relevant state authorities is essential since nearly all schools have enacted some form of legislation to help prevent and/or eliminate cyberbullying (Cooper, 2021). However, the perpetrator is likely to argue that such an action would a violation of her free speech protections under the First Amendment. Additionally, case law has focused on restricting the ability of schools to limit students’ speech beyond what takes place at school. School administrators could argue against such arguments on grounds that the perpetrator’s action threatens the school’s ability to provide a free and safe learning environment for all. If student speech at home affects the ability of the school to provide a safe and secure learning environment for all, the school can institute disciplinary action against perpetrators.

Creation of a Facebook Page with Fake Photographs

If the investigation finds that the same student is guilty of creating a Facebook page with fake photographs that generates wrong perceptions about a teacher and the assistant principal, the school can still take action against him/her. This would require examining what state laws and school district policies say about such an incident. Potential courses of action based on state laws and school district policies include having a stern talk with the perpetrator, talking to his/her parents, and disciplining the student (Gordon, 2020).

School Policies and Procedures for Student Bullying

The school has established an anti-bullying policy that defines what constitutes bullying and procedures to be undertaken to deal with bullying incidents. The school’s anti-bullying policy section includes investigation and reporting procedures, prevention strategies, and off-campus behaviors. Based on this policy and other school regulations, students are required to model appropriate behaviors when interacting with each other as well as in their interactions with teachers and staff. The most effective aspects of the policy including prevention strategies and investigation and reporting behaviors. However, stipulations on what constitutes off-campus behaviors and appropriate virtual behaviors are the most ineffective aspects. This policy can be improved by providing details on students’ speech and behaviors in virtual spaces.

Professional Development Activity for Teachers

According to Cooper (2021), training teachers to recognize and deal with signs of student harassment is critical in efforts to deal with bullying. Teachers can be trained through professional development activities that enhance understanding of harassment and bullying through technology. An example of a professional development activity is cyberbullying training for teachers that focuses on promoting the establishment of a safe and secure learning environment for all. To enhance teachers’ understanding of harassment and bullying in digital spaces, the training should incorporate teachings on constitutional rights relating to virtual spaces, what is protected, and what is not protected. Some of the activities to include in the training are simulations for real-life experiences and basics on handling and reporting harassment and bullying incidents in virtual spaces.

Recent State Law