Bullies - Part II - Is Everything Bullying?
Bullying – An Educator’s Duty in Tennessee
Before proceeding, consider to reading my previous article on bullying. In this article, I want to clear up the confusion that school officials struggle with when confronted with an alleged act of bullying in light of the Tennessee Anti-Bullying Laws. (T.C.A. 49-6-4501 et. seq.)
First, bullying has historically been associated with acts that involve 1) an imbalance of power (real or perceived) and/or 2) repeated behavior (or the likelihood of repetition). These are definitions that as of the writing are 1) listed on the TN Department of Educations website, 2) included in their bullying manual for educators and 3) recorded on the federal anti-bullying website.
Second, T.C.A. 49-6-4502, the portion of the law in Tennessee which defines bullying does not include the terms listed above, terms that most people associate with bullying. In fact, following the law verbatim would likely lead many educators and parents to assume almost all conflict would qualify as bullying. As a result, the law creates a burden on school officials, confusion for parents and possibly harmful consequences for students.
So, how should school officials navigate the investigation and reporting requirements given the broad definition under the law?
Advice For School Officials
The legal requirements for school officials are located in my previous article linked above. I encourage you to review those before continuing. Also, if you are a school official, I would advise you to consult with your local board attorney.
While we may not like the definition provided by the law, it is still the law. Therefore, when a student or a parent claim 1) they or their child were “bullied”, 2) you have reason to believe a student was “bullied”, or 3) the claims made against a student meet the broad criteria stated in T.C.A. 49-6-4502, best practice would be to initiate your districts bullying policy.
Now, once you begin the investigative process (i.e. the facts are collected and interviews have been conducted), I feel it’s important to review the evidence collected in light of the traditional definition of bullying. Essentially, once the investigation starts, school officials should evaluate the alleged behavior on whether the behavior is repeated, whether there was an imbalance of power or any of the other qualifiers for bullying. Keep in mind, “bullying” (particularly cyber-bullying) does not have to be repeated. If it has the likelihood of being repeated (common with cyber-bullying as the content can be easily shared) a single act may qualify. On such occasions, officials will need to look at the magnitude of the behavior and its subsequent interference with a student’s education. Such behavior may include threats of violence, acts of violence, the dissemination of false or embarrassing material or the threat to disseminate such content (i.e. Blackmail).
Two Additional Suggestions
First, school officials need to make a record of your investigation, including the interview. However, with respect to interviews, they should not be audio or video recorded. I would recommend school officials have another adult in the room taking notes. This is my personal opinion which I base primarily on the fact that victims of abuse may not be comfortable sharing information if they know they are being recorded. Second, such records and any subsequent punishment of a student should not be shared with the victim’s parents as such would qualify as a violation of FERPA. Schools have a duty to provide a safe learning environment. Educators also have a duty to protect the privacy rights of students.