Ohio State Board of Education Passes Model Policy
On July 10, the Ohio State Board of Education passed the final revision of the model policy mandated by the State Legislature. This model policy’s purpose is to provide guidelines to school districts in setting their own policy. The State Board includes definitions, complaint processes, personnel responsibilities, and training. According to the legislation, all districts must have policies set in place by this December, a year after the legislation was passed.
The policy first outlines the purpose of this legislation and sets an objective to the policy. It states that “The State Board of Education directed the Ohio Department of Education to provide schools with model policies and strategies that eliminate negative behaviors and recognize positive behaviors that promote safe and secure learning environments for all students and staff”. Districts must keep this in mind as they draft their policy.
Definitions are provided for terms such as ‘harassment’, ‘intimidation’, and ‘bullying’. The definitions establish that these terms can cause mental or physical harm to a student. The policy goes further, defining it in terms of electronic harassment/intimidation/bullying as well. This kind of bullying causes mental or physical harm through electronically transmitted acts.
The policy then defines what types of acts may be considered harassment. After defining the terms, the policy delves into the arena of complaints. There are three different types of complaints: formal, informal, and anonymous. Formal complaints are those that are filed to administrators and faculty by parents or students. Informal complaints are those which go to the faculty and are documented from that point. These are typically verbal complaints. Finally, anonymous complaints are informal complaints in which the name of the student can be kept in confidence. The policy calls for action no matter what kind of complaint, and review to follow.
The last part of the policy outlines what trainings should be composed of if the district is allocated funding to do so. Students will undergo a training that will introduce them to the district policy, appropriate to the age group. Not only will students partake in training, but faculty must also participate in a training regarding the school’s policy. The main purpose of these trainings is to educate both students and faculty on how to prevent harassment, intimidation, and bullying.
This multi-faceted policy goes in further detail, and can be found at the Ohio State Department of Education website. The next step is for school districts to adopt their own policies, which follows the model policy created by the State Board of Education. Policies must be completed by this December.