All Acts of Bullying In Delaware Schools Must Be Reported
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “Bullying may be the most under-reported safety problem in American schools.” I wholeheartedly agree. If the schools in Delaware don’t report all acts of bullying to the school district, that makes it impossible for the school district to accurately report bullying incidents to the State Department of Education. This, in turn, prevents the DOE from accurately measuring how effective or ineffective their bullying prevention programs have been. But rather than blame the schools, it is the school districts that have the duty of closely monitoring the schools to make certain that the bullying prevention programs are being adhered to.
Questions that each school district must ask on a regular basis are:
(1) how should we measure the effectiveness of our anti-bullying programs.
(2) what sensitivity, psychological or other training should school teachers and administrators receive to help them understand the risk factors and warning signs associated with bullying, and the investigation and response to allegations of bullying
(3) what records should be maintained regarding investigations and responses to allegations of bullying
Until these questions and others are properly addressed, bullying in our schools will continue to be under-reported.
