14
vernonia prevention coalition
march13
2012
The content on this page is provided by the Vernonia Prevention Coalition
Be a Piece of the Puzzle
Mandatory Reporting: A No Brainer
Reporting Bully/Cyber Bullying in Oregon
By DeAnna Pearl
According to ORS 419B.010,
“Any public or private official having
reasonable cause to believe that any child
with whom the official comes in contact
has suffered abuse, or that any person
with whom the official comes in contact
has abused a child shall immediately
report or cause a report to be made . . .”
On March 1 st , the Oregon House
of Representatives passed stronger
legislation on mandatory reporting on
bullying and cyber bullying. The Senate
Bill 1555 put a finer point on the topic:
“allows remedial actions for failure to
report and the school district to list the
remedial action that may be imposed on
a school employee for failure to make a
report…” This bill will take effect on
July 1, 2012.
ALL
school
employees,
temporary and/or contractors, are
mandatory reporters. Why? Because
bullying is brought to the attention of a
teacher and or support staff often by the
victim or bystander to a staff member
they trust. If reporting the abuse is
mandatory why do we need additional
language to enforce it? Unfortunately, in
the last year a gross number of youth have
killed themselves because of long-term
harassment. Over 50% of those cases
were reported to the teacher
or the administration of the
various school districts.
The
key
is
to understand how to
report, big or small,
and the importance of
documentation of all
incidences. Research
increasingly
recognizes
the importance of student
bystander and adult educator
shared responsibility for
successful bully prevention.
The role of teacher
observations versus student
reports of bullying, as well as staff
preparedness, as predictors of teacher
involvement was investigated by Rona
Milch Novick and Jenny Issacs in a
case study published in the Educational
Psychology: An International Journal of
Experimental Educational Psychology
(vo. 30, issue 3, 2010)
Being told by students about
bullying incidents was the strongest
predictor of teacher involvement.
However, the relation between being
told about bullying, or observing it, and
coaching students on how to manage
bullying was most evident when teachers
felt highly prepared to handle bullying
situations. But the responsibility does
not rely solely on the school staff; it is
the responsibility of us all to report to
the school if a child discloses bullying in
any form that involves another student
or staff.
According to the Oregon
Department of Human Services, “A
report is not an already established fact,
but rather the request for assessment
into the safety and condition of a
child. It is the beginning of a helping
process for children and families. All
Oregon citizens are encouraged to
report suspected cases to DHS or law
enforcement. Over 25 percent of the
substantiated cases of child abuse are
reported by concerned citizens who are
not required to report. Failure to report
is a violation and carries a maximum
penalty of $1,000.00. Mandatory
reporters have also been successfully
sued for damages in civil court for
failing to report.”
It is often not the case of wanting
to report but the case of what constitutes
a report. The VSD 47J does have a
current policy that address this issue.
The “Hazing/Harassment/Intimidation/
Bullying/Menacing” or GBNA/JFCF
policy was updated and readopted on
Jan. 14, 2010 after the original bill had
been submitted to the Oregon House of
Legislation in 2009. You can find this
and all policies on the VSD website. A
revision and readopting will be needed
to include the new amendments to the
ORS 339.335 Harassment, Intimidation
and Bullying. As it stands, the VSD
administration is taking proactive strides
in reducing, addressing and prevention
of hazing, harassment, intimidation,
bullying and menacing. This policy is
very strongly written and forward in
thinking.
ALL
VSD
staff
and
administration participated in a Bully
Awareness training at
the beginning of the
2011-2012 school year.
This was an effort to
help them understand
the culture of bullying,
the subtleties of bullying
and the long term effects
if not properly handled.
For
students,
the
Ovations Company came
in November for three
days to work with all
students in grades 4-12 th
to help bring awareness
and develop skills to
handle day to day issues with fellow
students around bullying, positive social
norming and interrelation development.
(See Vernonia’s Voice “What’s All the
Fuss About Bullying,” 1/24/12.) These
programs were in partnership with the
Vernonia Prevention Coalition to help
prevention students from self harming
National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Are you feeling desperate, alone or
hopeless? Call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline a free, 24-hour
hotline available to anyone in suicidal
crisis or emotional distress. Your call
will be routed to the nearest crisis
center to you.
Veterans Suicide
Prevention Hotline
1-800-273-TALK (8255) Press 1
themselves in an effort to deal with the
effects of bullying.
So to be clear, bullying is a
widespread and serious problem that
can happen anywhere. It is not a phase
children have to go through, it is not
“just messing around”, and it is not
something to grow out of. Bullying can
cause serious and lasting harm. Bullying
can take many forms. Examples include:
•
Verbal: name-calling, teasing
•
Social: spreading rumors,
leaving people out on purpose, breaking
up friendships
•
Physical: hitting, punching,
shoving
For even greater clarification,
Cyber-bullying, instead of happening
face-to-face, happens through the use
of technology such as computers, cell
phones and other electronic devices.
Cyber-bullying peaks around the end of
middle school and the beginning of high
school. Examples of cyber-bullying
include:
•
Sending hurtful, rude, or mean
text messages to others
•
Spreading rumors or lies about
others by e-mail or on social networks
•
Creating websites, videos &
photographs or social media profiles that
embarrass, humiliate, or make fun of
others
Bullying online is very different
from face-to-face bullying because
messages and images can be:
•
Sent 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, 365 days a year
•
Shared to a very wide audience
•
Sent anonymously
For more information on
bullying in your school, call your
principal. For information on bullying
and what you can do about it go to the
websites listed. If you or someone you
know is being abused, call the hotline.
No matter what you do, you can help
create a safe and healthy community
by participating in local programming
and outreach. Contact DeAnna Pearl
if you would like to do more in your
community at (503) 369-7370.
ODS Child Abuse Hotline - 877-302-
0077 toll free
Bullying Info - www.stopbullying.gov
VSD Policy – http:/policy.osba.org/
vernonia/
