Sunday, June 29, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Fight Against Bullying Now
A bully may think that there is not bullying going on in our schools and our world. If you think it is not a big deal...you are wrong! I hope you take the time to educate yourself and stand up for what is right. I am not going to deny that I have been on both sides of the problem. I have been bullied and I have been a bully. It's not that I am pointing fingers at those bullies. I want to make others aware bullying, why it is a problem, and what to do about it!
With the rules changing in our schools and laws being enforced in our communities I believe bullying can be alleviated. I think it will take the public to stand up to bullies for them to back down.
Through this I hope to do my part to Fight Against Bullying Now! Please join me in standing up against bullying in our schools, community, and world! I am using this site to gather and distribute information I find helpful to Fight Against Bullying Now! If you would like to use or share any of this information please feel free to do so.
Sincerely,
Tamarah Jo
With the rules changing in our schools and laws being enforced in our communities I believe bullying can be alleviated. I think it will take the public to stand up to bullies for them to back down.
- I will not bully ever.
- I will stand up to bullies for myself and all people.
- I will educate others.
- I will teach others to educate themselves and others.
Through this I hope to do my part to Fight Against Bullying Now! Please join me in standing up against bullying in our schools, community, and world! I am using this site to gather and distribute information I find helpful to Fight Against Bullying Now! If you would like to use or share any of this information please feel free to do so.
Sincerely,
Tamarah Jo
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Interview for the paper
Today, my local paper contacted me about this project. I am excited to know that information is getting out to the public about bullying, and thank you for taking interest in my project! It has been an experience working on this project. If anyone would like more information just contact me and I would be happy to share my information. This is an ongoing project so this blog will continue to change, and it will be passed on and kept up to date as information becomes necessary to share.
On June 24th an article about Redwood Area School's new bullying policy appeared. You can view it at the following link:
http://www.redwoodfallsgazette.com/article/20140624/NEWS/140629867
Note: I have edited this post and added a PDF link to make printing the brochure easier. Please check out my post made on 6/29/2014. Thanks for your interest and if you have any problems feel free to contact me.
On June 24th an article about Redwood Area School's new bullying policy appeared. You can view it at the following link:
http://www.redwoodfallsgazette.com/article/20140624/NEWS/140629867
Note: I have edited this post and added a PDF link to make printing the brochure easier. Please check out my post made on 6/29/2014. Thanks for your interest and if you have any problems feel free to contact me.
Minnesota Anti-Bullying Law Info
More Detailed Bullying Prevention To Be Implemented in Schools Across Minnesota
Office of Governor Mark Dayton Blog: http://mn.gov/governor/blog/the-office-of-the-governor-blog-entry-detail.jsp?id=102-125621
Office of Governor Mark Dayton Blog: http://mn.gov/governor/blog/the-office-of-the-governor-blog-entry-detail.jsp?id=102-125621
Minnesota's current anti-bullying law only requires that schools have a bullying policy, but doesn't give guidance on what should be in the policy.
But that will change now that the DFL-sponsored measure passed, largely on a party-line vote, after a 12-hour House floor debate. The state will require districts to spell out how exactly they'll protect students from intimidating, threatening, abusive or harmful behavior, and how they'll track and respond to cases of bullying.
This afternoon, on the steps of the State Capitol this, Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill, which replaces the current 37-word law with language that supporters say will ensure districts across the state have consistent and effective anti-bullying policies.
"It's not only to provide the kind of academic excellence our young people are going to need, it's to provide the kind of emotional, maturational experiences and guidance that they're going to need to be successful in their lives, to be successful in this society, to be successful in this world," Dayton said.
Schools try to decipher law
The law goes into effect next school year, but school administrators are already trying to determine just how the law will change their approach to bullying cases.
That likely won't be easy because the new law doesn't specifically tell districts how to move forward with those efforts, appearing to leave some wiggle room on their approach to bullying.
"I'd like to think this isn't going to change the way we do business a whole lot, but we have to take a look at the details," said Rick Lahn, superintendent of the Alexandria school district.
Lahn said his district already investigates and tracks cases of bullying, a mandate of the new law. But he's not sure how much new paperwork will be required.
"There will be some secretaries involved with some of the record keeping and data recording and we'll find a way to get it done," Lahn said.
The state won't provide money for schools to implement the law, prompting critics to call it an expensive unfunded mandate.
Although some of the reporting requirements in the bill were eased this session, and many of the law's requirements are already in place in schools, administrators across the state think that should ease the law's bureaucratic burden.
The St. Paul district is working out how best to respond to bullying under the law, a process that actually began with a new district anti-bullying policy in 2012.
Ryan Vernosh, policy and planning administrator for the district, said he's collecting best practices from each of the district's schools, and will combine them into a new approach.
"We're looking at what we're going to do in terms of an inquiry procedure for when a report of bullying takes place in a school," he said. "We're going to give guidance to building leaders on the process to go to through with that."
Vernosh said he thinks the district already meets the law's requirements. But he said the finer points on how the district will comply with the law are still being ironed out.
No more automatic punishments
Even though the law doesn't detail exactly how districts should respond to bullying, it does require them to include restorative practices.
That involves working with students accused of bullying to get at the root cause of their behavior, instead of automatically turning to suspensions or other punitive approaches.
Walter Roberts, who co-chaired a state task force on bullying in 2012, said many of the group's recommendations, including using restorative measures, became part of the new law.
"This is about helping kids learn how to manage their own behavior and the only way we're going to get to that point is if we take the time to help kids learn new ways of behavior," he said.
The new law also defines bullying, bringing a bit more clarity to exactly what behavior school officials need to watch for.
Under its provisions, a one-time incident isn't automatically considered bullying. The behavior generally has to be repeated, and include a so-called "imbalance of power" between the students involved.
That will help filter out incidents that shouldn't necessarily be considered bullying, Northfield superintendent Chris Richardson said.
"It's the idea that you have two third graders on the playground and one gets to the jungle gym first and pushes in front of the other student that's really not bullying," Richardson said.
Another mandate in the new law will be training.
Schools will need to train their entire staff, from teachers and coaches to cafeteria workers and bus drivers, on how to spot and prevent bullying.
But as with other key provisions in the law, the state won't require what's in the training, only that it takes place every three years.
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/04/09/dayton-signs-tougher-anti-bullying-bill-into-law/7524031/
Bullying Awareness Presentation
I created this presentation to use with the groups I work with. Feel free to look at it and use it as you please. Let me know if it helps you or if you have any ideas for improvements as well!
Presentation Includes:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16zkq8Yzeaxk_CV3ko6MrgfhIU_tvk2x7Tg1KQR3R1Zo/edit?usp=sharing
Presentation Includes:
- Statistics
- Activities
- Pictures
- Ideas
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
MN Anti-Bullying Legislation
Passed Today!
April 9, 2014
April 9, 2014
Dayton signs anti-bullying bill
- Article by: KIM MCGUIRE and RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune staff writers
- Updated: April 10, 2014 - 5:42 AM
Activists rejoiced, while some opponents said their reservations linger.
Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday signed a bullying-prevention bill into law, creating a tough new set of rules for Minnesota schools to follow to protect students from being tormented by classmates.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Act replaced a 37-word anti-bullying law that was widely considered one of the nation’s weakest. Its passage came almost three years after the state’s largest school district was hit with a lawsuit that accused it of failing to protect students from being bullied.
“Nobody in this state or nation should have to feel bad about themselves for being who they are,” Dayton said. “This law says, ‘Not in Minnesota.’ ”
For more than two years, legislators have been battling over the measure’s language, details and philosophy. Opponents argued that it was too prescriptive and would take away control from local officials who know their schools best.
The law requires school districts to track and investigate cases of bullying and to better train staffers and teachers on how to prevent it. Some Minnesota school leaders still have lingering concerns about how much it will cost to implement the new law, while others — particularly in rural Minnesota — still wonder whether it was needed at all.
But most administrators said Wednesday that the law is simply the right thing to do.
“This debate is all too familiar to me,” said Dennis Carlson, superintendent of the Anoka-Hennepin district, where bullying has been a major issue for some time and which was sued. “But my point has always been that we have to put the welfare of students ahead of all the political rhetoric.”
Minnesota’s anti-bullying laws are no longer the weakest in the nation, but the bill signed into law is not as strong as its original incarnation.
A number of provisions in earlier versions were taken out to appease groups such as the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and the Minnesota School Boards Association. The final bill no longer requires schools to keep data and report it, and they won’t be subject to mandatory training of volunteers.
Districts will not have to adopt the state’s model policy unless they decline to devise one of their own. Many already have anti-bullying policies in place.
“We are really doing a great deal and plan on doing more to make sure all of our student feel safe and secure,” said Ryan Vernosh, administrator of St. Paul public schools’ strategic planning and policy efforts. “We really don’t anticipate a change in course.”
Toward the end of the past decade a number of states passed legislation to crack down on bullying, but Minnesota activists were dealt a major setback in 2009 when former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, vetoed an anti-bullying measure.
Around that time, activists’ passions were ignited by a series of high-profile incidents of alleged bullying and suicides among students in the Anoka-Hennepin district, a situation that ultimately resulted in intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice. That led to a legal settlement that forced the state’s largest district to get more involved in policing harassment against students.
While Carlson said he supports the new law, some of his district’s school board members have lingering concerns about how much it will cost to implement. Cost estimates for statewide implementation have ranged between $5 million and $25 million.
“Our board is still not happy with it because they feel like it is an unfunded mandate,” he said. “For many school districts, that remains an issue.”
Urban and rural legislators were split over the bill. Fred Nolan, executive director of the Minnesota Rural Education Association, said many of his group’s members wanted to keep the current law in place.
“The issue is not as salient in our schools as it is for many metro schools,” he said. “Many felt as though it was a solution looking for a problem.”
Bill ‘American as ... can be’
During the nearly 12-hour debate on the Minnesota House floor Tuesday night, some Republicans said the bullying measure smacked of fascism, and others said it would create a totalitarian society like the one described in George Orwell’s book “1984.”
Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, said he believes the law will do little to prevent bullying. He spoke more favorably of a spanking he once got as a child from a bus driver for bullying another child.
“The point is, it corrected the problem,” he said of the incident. “I didn’t have to go to counseling, therapy, or sue the bus driver. It was over.”
Dayton said that while much of the debate was heartfelt from both sides of the aisle, he believes some comments were out of line.
“The First Amendment guarantees free speech. But it doesn’t distinguish between intelligent speech and unintelligent speech,” Dayton said to applause. “This bill is American as any bill can be.”
The governor was flanked by children who had written to lawmakers, testified before the Legislature and spoken out about their support for the law. Among them was Jake Ross, 11, of Forest Lake, who introduced himself as a Boy Scout and a Christian.
In a calm, articulate speech, Jake told the crowd of his experience in elementary school. As a 7-year-old, he said, he was threatened, attacked, laughed at and abused by bullies who even threatened to kill him.
“Today marks the beginning of a change in thinking about bullying,” Jake said. “I am very happy for this day.”
He said his school lacked policies to protect him and that he ended up transferring to another. Now, he said, he wishes to tell other bullied children that he understands their struggles.
“I wish you freedom from your pain,” he said.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Act replaced a 37-word anti-bullying law that was widely considered one of the nation’s weakest. Its passage came almost three years after the state’s largest school district was hit with a lawsuit that accused it of failing to protect students from being bullied.
“Nobody in this state or nation should have to feel bad about themselves for being who they are,” Dayton said. “This law says, ‘Not in Minnesota.’ ”
For more than two years, legislators have been battling over the measure’s language, details and philosophy. Opponents argued that it was too prescriptive and would take away control from local officials who know their schools best.
But most administrators said Wednesday that the law is simply the right thing to do.
“This debate is all too familiar to me,” said Dennis Carlson, superintendent of the Anoka-Hennepin district, where bullying has been a major issue for some time and which was sued. “But my point has always been that we have to put the welfare of students ahead of all the political rhetoric.”
Minnesota’s anti-bullying laws are no longer the weakest in the nation, but the bill signed into law is not as strong as its original incarnation.
A number of provisions in earlier versions were taken out to appease groups such as the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and the Minnesota School Boards Association. The final bill no longer requires schools to keep data and report it, and they won’t be subject to mandatory training of volunteers.
Districts will not have to adopt the state’s model policy unless they decline to devise one of their own. Many already have anti-bullying policies in place.
Toward the end of the past decade a number of states passed legislation to crack down on bullying, but Minnesota activists were dealt a major setback in 2009 when former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, vetoed an anti-bullying measure.
Around that time, activists’ passions were ignited by a series of high-profile incidents of alleged bullying and suicides among students in the Anoka-Hennepin district, a situation that ultimately resulted in intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice. That led to a legal settlement that forced the state’s largest district to get more involved in policing harassment against students.
While Carlson said he supports the new law, some of his district’s school board members have lingering concerns about how much it will cost to implement. Cost estimates for statewide implementation have ranged between $5 million and $25 million.
“Our board is still not happy with it because they feel like it is an unfunded mandate,” he said. “For many school districts, that remains an issue.”
Urban and rural legislators were split over the bill. Fred Nolan, executive director of the Minnesota Rural Education Association, said many of his group’s members wanted to keep the current law in place.
“The issue is not as salient in our schools as it is for many metro schools,” he said. “Many felt as though it was a solution looking for a problem.”
Bill ‘American as ... can be’
During the nearly 12-hour debate on the Minnesota House floor Tuesday night, some Republicans said the bullying measure smacked of fascism, and others said it would create a totalitarian society like the one described in George Orwell’s book “1984.”
Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, said he believes the law will do little to prevent bullying. He spoke more favorably of a spanking he once got as a child from a bus driver for bullying another child.
“The point is, it corrected the problem,” he said of the incident. “I didn’t have to go to counseling, therapy, or sue the bus driver. It was over.”
Dayton said that while much of the debate was heartfelt from both sides of the aisle, he believes some comments were out of line.
“The First Amendment guarantees free speech. But it doesn’t distinguish between intelligent speech and unintelligent speech,” Dayton said to applause. “This bill is American as any bill can be.”
The governor was flanked by children who had written to lawmakers, testified before the Legislature and spoken out about their support for the law. Among them was Jake Ross, 11, of Forest Lake, who introduced himself as a Boy Scout and a Christian.
In a calm, articulate speech, Jake told the crowd of his experience in elementary school. As a 7-year-old, he said, he was threatened, attacked, laughed at and abused by bullies who even threatened to kill him.
“Today marks the beginning of a change in thinking about bullying,” Jake said. “I am very happy for this day.”
He said his school lacked policies to protect him and that he ended up transferring to another. Now, he said, he wishes to tell other bullied children that he understands their struggles.
“I wish you freedom from your pain,” he said.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
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