In Brazil – Bullied Student to Cold-Blooded Killer
Posted In Campus Safety, Education, Incident Reporting, School Safety, Validations on April 19th, 2011 Tags: brazilian school shooting, bullying, school shootings, school violence
The Brazilian whose shooting spree left 12 school children dead was a loner who spent his days surfing the Web, and had been victim of schoolyard bullying and taunts. His classmates and former teachers said he was routinely bullied at school, rejected and taunted by girls in class, and forced to endure “constant humiliation”.
Lessons Learned: There are several lessons learned from this tragedy. Number One: Bullying can have a devastating effect on a child and can lead to severe violence. Number Two: Multiple red flags were given prior to this attack: recent clothing changes, change in mental state, researching weapons online, withdrawing from society, removal from family, losing job, etc. Number Three: It is critical that people are aware of tools to anonymously and non-anonymously report suspicious incidents or aggressive behaviors.
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Fighting Bullying with Lawsuits
Posted In Campus Safety, Education, Education, Incident Reporting, Regulatory Compliance, Research, School Safety, Validations on April 19th, 2011 Tags: bullying, Bullying Lawsuits, OCR "Dear Colleague" Letter
Lawsuits targeting school districts for allowing students to be bullied by other students are escalating.
Lessons Learned: With new guidelines outlined in an OCR “Dear Colleague” Letter and an increase in bullying, harassment, discrimination and school violence, schools need to be aware of the potential risk of lawsuits. School leaders must ensure all individuals (staff, faculty, parents, students, counselors, etc.) understand their roles and responsibilities for preventing and responding to bullying and how to report incidents of bullying. Schools must implement comprehensive and ongoing protocols for responding to ALL incidents of bullying and cyber bullying with legal-ready documentation to avoid “deliberate indifference” claims and lawsuits.
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EKU at “Vanguard of Campus Safety” with Campus Aggression Prevention System
Posted In Campus Safety, Education, Incident Reporting, School Safety, Validations on April 19th, 2011 Tags: Campus Aggression Prevention System, Campus Safety, Campus Violence, Red Flags
Eastern Kentucky University has implemented the Campus Aggression Prevention System (CAPS) in order to track both primal and cognitive aggression, identify acts of emerging aggression based on an objective scale and then record those acts in a software-based tracking system. Responders are trained to intervene appropriately to stop the aggressor before serious harm can be done.
Lessons Learned: In response to recent tragedies, many schools and colleges nation-wide are reviewing their programs for identifying, assessing, and intervening with students who show signs of distress and evaluating their policies and procedures for reporting red flags, suspicious or aggressive behaviors, violence, risks, etc. Lessons learned have clearly revealed that school/college leaders must let go of status quo approaches and look at new ways for improving situational awareness and connecting the dots to identify red flags, improve prevention, protect communities and save lives. One of the most concerning things is that students are not reporting acts of violence, bullying, harassment, etc. It is critical for schools to implement safe and non-retaliatory reporting procedures, policies, plans, and training for faculty to identity warning signs of violence.
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Parents of Student Who Committed Bullycide File Lawsuit – Failure to Warn
Posted In Education, School Safety, Validations on April 18th, 2011 Tags: Anti-Bullying, bullycide, bullying, bullying lawsuit, Sexting, Suicide Prevention
The parents of a bullied student who committed suicide in 2009 have filed a lawsuit against the Hillsborough School Board claiming school officials failed to take proper steps after learning their daughter showed signs of being suicidal.
Lessons Learned: If a student signs “a formal contract in which she expressly agreed not to commit suicide” at school with a school social worker…does the school have the responsibility to tell the student’s parents about the signed contract?
School boards and school leaders need to make sure their policies and procedures define situational awareness – what steps should be taken in different situations – so counselors, social workers, principals, resource officers, nurses, etc. are not putting students, families, communities and schools at risk.
This tragedy, this lawsuit and many other situations offer valuable lessons learned for school boards and school leaders. However, school boards and school leaders must be proactive to ensure they adjust their policies and procedures, make sure the right people have the updated policies and procedures, understand the policies and procedures, acknowledge the policies and procedures and make sure all related steps in this ongoing process are documented to prevent bullying, future tragedies and lawsuits.
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