Southern Choctaw Elementary
~A Leader In Me School~
Leadership on the Reservation
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ABZ (Anti-Bully Zone)
Alabama Law
Harassment is a continuous pattern of intentional behavior that takes place on school property, on school bus, or at a school-sponsored function including, but not limited to, written, electronic, verbal, or physical acts that are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any characteristic of a student, or by the association of a student, or by the association of a student with an individual who has a particular characteristic, if the characteristic falls into one of the catergories of personal characteristic contained in the model policy adopted by the department or the local board.
Every year, countless Alabama students endure painful encounters with peers, in person, as well as through the Internet. The Stop Bullying in Alabama web site provides anti-bullying resources for students, parents, teachers, and school administrators to help fight this pervasive problem.This site will help you find resources that can help combat bullying.
What is Bullying?
Bullying is when a person or group of people repeatedly uses words or actions to intentionally cause physical or emotional harm to another person who has a hard time defending himself or herself.
Example: One's attire, diminutive stature, inability to do something well (like throw a ball)
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The Student Harassment Prevention Act was signed on May 29, 2009 by Alabama Governor Bob Riley.
(Click for origianl document)
What is Harassment?
According to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) it is when actions arising from legally protected status such as race, color, national origin, sex, or disability.
Example: Starting rumors about one's sexual preference, sending inappropriate photos by cell or email.
Alabama Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies
What are the Alabama state laws that cover bullying?
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Alabama Code §16-28B-4 – Prohibited behavior; complaints; school plans or programs
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Alabama Code §16-28B-8 – Implementation of standards and policies
Click on the code above to see fact
(Click for link
Know Your Rights:
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This regularly updated fact sheet provides a brief overview and link to each of the state bullying laws. If you are aware of updates to the bullying laws in your state that are not included, please let us know.
State Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies
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State and local lawmakers have taken action to prevent bullying and protect children. Through laws (in their state education codes and elsewhere) and model policies (that provide guidance to districts and schools), each state addresses bullying differently. Find out how your state refers to bullying in its laws and what they require on part of schools and districts.
Bullying, cyberbullying, and related behaviors may be addressed in a single law or may be addressed in multiple laws. In some cases, bullying appears in the criminal code of a state that may apply to juveniles. In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Education reviewed state laws and identified 11 key components common among many of those laws.
Click on the state above to open the new window, then your state to find out more about your state’s anti-bullying laws and policies and which of the key components they contain.
In recent years, many state departments of education and local school districts have taken steps to reduce bullying in schools. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) fully supports these efforts. Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively affect learning, thereby undermining the ability of students to achieve their full potential.
Federal Laws
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Although no federal law directly addresses bullying, in some cases, bullying overlaps with discriminatory harassment when it is based on race, national origin, color, sex, age, disability, or religion. When bullying and harassment overlap, federally-funded schools (including colleges and universities) have an obligation to resolve the harassment. When the situation is not adequately resolved, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division may be able to help.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), 20 U.S.C. §1681et seq., is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. All public and private elementary and secondary schools, school districts, colleges, and universities (hereinafter “schools”) receiving any Federal funds must comply with Title IX. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion.
Student bullying in schools in the United States is a serious issue and very prevalent in our school systems today. The statistics show that a student is bullied every seven minutes in our country and that most bullying occurs on playgrounds. The effects of bullying are profound and have a major psychological impact on the bullied student and often causes learning problems in the classroom.
The majority of states have bullying laws on the books, but most are not significant enough to impact this problem or reduce the amount of bullying that occurs nationwide. Without more stringent laws and the actual enforcement of those laws, school systems will not feel the pressure to take the affirmative measures necessary to eliminate the bullying problem that terrorizes so many innocent and vulnerable children everyday.
Student Bullying in the United States Statisitcs and Facts by Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
This chart is from Buckfire & Buckfire and was added to Zoom It so all the content could be viewed.
