Lack of guidance hampers schools’ ability to deal with bullying

Bridgett Massman's hair and shirt were wet when her mother picked her up from school Oct. 25.

Kim Massman said her daughter was accosted by another student in the girls' bathroom that day. Massman said Bridgett, 10, was kicked repeatedly in the groin and that the student held Bridgett's head in the sink, with the water running.

“She tried to drown her,” Massman said. “The school chalked it up to ‘a typical girl incident.' I'm a girl, and I've never done that to another girl.”

West Delaware Middle School Principal Randy Stanek confirmed that Bridgett and another student were involved in an “isolated incident” on Oct. 25. “It was dealt with appropriately,” Stanek said, declining to share details.

Massman disagreed and open-enrolled Bridgett in a new school district.

Iowa law requires all public school districts and accredited non-public schools to have anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies, but here's the catch: School personnel determine whether an incident meets the state's definition of bullying and harassment, and the guidance they have is vague and debatable.

“Every day you see something on the news about a kid killing himself because of something that happened at school - not at home, at school,” Massman said. “I don't want my kid to be a statistic.”

When it comes to bullying, the statistics are daunting. This is despite the fact that all states, except South Dakota, have anti-bullying and anti-harassment laws.

Iowa schools declare that harassment and bullying in schools, on school property and at any school functions or school-sponsored activity, no matter its location, is against state and school policy.

Students who feel they have been bullied are asked to tell the school. The matter is investigated, and if a student is found to be in violation of the policy, the student is disciplined. The severity of the punishment varies.

Bullying incidents are included in the annual Basic Education Data System report. School personnel use a state-provided matrix to determine whether an incident needs to be reported.

The examples listed in the matrix, however, are questionable.

For example, one states that a group of middle-school girls - on-again, off-again friends - start texting each other at school. Some of the messages turn nasty. Hurt feelings escalate to a one-time shoving match in the hall between classes. According to the matrix, such an incident should not be reported because the behavior is more like “typical adolescent cruelty.” If the behavior escalates, it should be reported then, the matrix concludes.

Students and their parents have the option of filing a complaint with the district if they feel the issue has not been resolved.

Even the annual reports don't provide an accurate picture. Nearly 8,500 harassment and bullying incidents were reported to the state for the 2009-10 school year. Iowa had 507,622 students enrolled in its public and non-public schools at that time.

“Our reporting system is not where we want it to be right now,” said Cyndy Erickson, a consultant for the Iowa Department of Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools/Learning Supports. “A district could be almost overly diligent in reporting every single incident, giving them a higher total than a district that might be more strict with what they do or don't report.”

Also, Iowa's law doesn't offer guidance as to what schools should do with this information. Justin Patchin, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, said most anti-bully laws are deliberately vague.

“Schools are told to deal with the issue, but they aren't given the tools to have an impact,” Patchin said. “Many states require schools to educate students about bullying, but none that I'm aware of have provided the resources needed to teach this information. Without additional resources, without additional information, the laws are another unfunded mandate.”

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City do have curriculums to promote positive behavior. They both use Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, which works to erase negative behavior by rewarding positive actions.

Iowa City elementary schools also use Steps to Respect, a national anti-bullying program. Its middle school counterpart, Second Step, is being piloted this year in Iowa City.

Cedar Rapids also has Doing Our PART to help elementary students develop character traits and skills that help them be responsible citizens, including recognizing and handling bullying.

Educators want to provide a safe environment for learning but also want flexibility to address bullying on a case-by-case basis. Do one-time offenses deserve the same treatment as habitual bullies? Should students suffer in silence while an answer is sought?

“Schools are really in a tough bind with this,” Patchin said. “If they take action when they're not supposed to, they get sued. When they don't take action, they get sued.”

Erickson said the state hopes to improve its reporting and response system, which could result in better guidance and procedures. Iowa was one of 11 states to be awarded Safe and Supportive School grants by the U.S. Department of Education. Twelve school districts asked to be included in the grant proposal, including Cedar Rapids.

“With this grant, some schools will be doing what we should be doing,” Erickson said.