Published: April 15, 2008 02:52 pm      

RCMS seeing results from bullying policy

State lawmakers have given final approval of House Bill 91, a bill that deals with bullying. It was passed on April 2.

“Perseverance is the answer,” said primary sponsor of the bill Mike Cherry. “We passed the piece of legislation by both chambers. Now we are waiting for the governor to sign the bill.”

The bill has been met with controversy in past legislative sessions because language used in it was unclear. However, the issue was turned over to a compromise committee to work out some details of the bill.

“The final draft of the bill will be left to the school districts to come up with a policy on what bullying is, the consequences and how to deal with the problem,” said Rep. Rocky Adkins.

The key is to be as flexible with the school districts as possible so they can implement this program and make it workable for their schools, Adkins said.

“I think it is a well balanced piece of legislation that can be adapted to school districts across the commonwealth.”

“A lot of school districts have a bullying program in place,” Adkins added.

The Rowan County School System is proactive where the bullying issue is concerned.

“We have an anti-bullying policy already,” said Rowan County Middle School Assistant Principal Daryl Williamson. “We have a bullying prevention program. It is called Olweus.”

Created by Norwegian professor Dan Olweus, The Olweus Prevention Program is an intense plan designed to reduce and prevent bullying among students in school. It is designed to provide counseling for those victimized by bullying and those individuals who show signs of being a bully.

“This is our first year,” Williamson said. “Some students do not know they are bullying someone else. We have a series of videos we require for all students and staff to watch as a part of our program.

“The program works. I think parents will agree that it works also,” he said. “Last year, between 90 percent to 95 percent of the discipline problems came from bullying. Since we ran the program, the discipline problems have diminished.”

The definition of a bully is displayed in every classroom at the middle school. It serves as a reminder to all students what it means and that it is not tolerated. It reads:

“Bullying is an aggressive behavior that is intended to cause harm or distress, directed towards another student. A bully can take many forms, including physical violence, teasing, taunting, name-calling, social exclusion, cliques and sexual harassment. It can be related to hostile acts perpetrated against social, ethnic, social minorities, subgroups and persons with disabilities.”

The Rowan County Board of Education supports each school on their anti-bullying policy. Assistant Superintendent/ Director of Pupil Personnel Tom Daugherty confirmed that.

“There is no tolerance for bullying in our school,” Daugherty said. “It is not acceptable and we will not tolerate it.”

The act of bullying is punishable by suspension, expulsion or another form of discipline.

Several groups helped to work on the legislation. Those groups are the School Board Association, Kentucky Education Authority Association, Catholic Conference, Youth Advocates and the Kentucky Council of Churches.