Texas Suspicious Activity Reporting: Report suspicious activities or behaviors that may indicate criminal, terroristic, or school safety-related threats.

Procedures for Reporting Bullying

1. Report to Teacher, Principal, or Counselor

2. Leave a note in the Counselor’s “box”

3. Call SISD Central Administration to report bullying (979-596-2153)

4. Fill out a SISD Bullying Report

5. Email stopbullying@somervilleisd.org

Procedures for Investigating Reports of Bullying

1. Campus administrators shall investigate all reports of bullying.

2. The campus administrator shall promptly take interim action to prevent bullying during an investigation.

3. The investigation should be completed within 10 district business days from the date of the report. Cyberbullying

4. When the investigation is complete the administrator shall compile a full written report of the complaint and the result of the investigation including a determination of whether bullying occurred.

5. A copy of the report should be sent to the Superintendent or designee.

6. To the greatest extent possible, the District shall respect the privacy of the complainant, persons against whom a report is filed, and witnesses.

What is Bullying?
Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in verbal or written expression, physical, social or psychological aggressive behavior directed towards a less powerful person or group that is intended to cause harm, distress or fear.

What are the Types of Bullying?
There are some specific types of bullying behavior:

• Verbal Bullying – is saying or writing mean things such as:

  • Targeted name-calling

  • Jokes or teasing

  • Inappropriate comments or taunting

  • Threatening to cause harm

  • Hand gestures

• Physical Bullying- is hurting a person’s body or possessions such as:

  • Hitting, kicking, pinching

  • Spitting

  • Tripping/pushing

  • Taking or breaking someone’s personal possessions

• Cyberbullying - either online or via mobile phone through social media, SMS, Text or Apps such as:

  • Sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false or mean content about someone else.

  • Sharing personal or confidential information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation.

Individuals Involved in Bullying
Most individuals have some type of contact with bullying. The individuals involved in bullying possess some of the following characteristics:

• Bully: displays power in some form (size, popularity, athleticism, knowledge, number, etc.), thrives on feelings of dominance, lacks empathy, uses blame, does not accept responsibility, craves attention, and may have a small network of friends.

• Victim: may lack social and/or assertiveness skills, may be passive, may experience feelings leading to the inability to concentrate, may lose interest in school, and may consider suicide or violence toward others.

• Bystander: has feelings of empathy yet seldom steps forward, feels powerless to defend the victim, behaves in a way to prevent becoming a victim him/herself, may begin to see bullying as the "norm," may feel guilty for not intervening, can successfully prevent or intervene if given instruction for intervention strategies.

What is not bullying?
There are also some behaviors, which, although they might be unpleasant or distressing, are not bullying:

• Mutual conflict - which involves a disagreement, but not an imbalance of power. Unresolved mutual conflict can develop into bullying if one of the parties targets the other repeatedly in retaliation.

• Single-episode acts of nastiness or physical aggression, or aggression directed towards many different people, is not bullying

• Social rejection or dislike is not bullying unless it involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others.

Disciplinary Options for Bullying

1. Counseling

2. In-School Suspension

3. Out of School Suspension

4. Referral to Law Enforcement

5. DAEP

False Claims: A student who intentionally makes a false claim, offers false statements, or refuses to cooperate with a District investigation regarding bullying shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

Helpful Links:

Information on Cyberbullying
https://cyberbullying.org/

General Information on Bullying and Tips
https://www.stopbullying.gov/

Online Safety for Children and Teens: A Comprehensive Guide to Staying Safe Online
https://cyberinsureone.com/online-safety/

Bullying Policy and other resources.