Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation
I. Purpose
The purpose of this administrative procedure is to maintain a safe school environment that is conducive to learning and to ensure that school administrators and staff take measures to promote the prevention of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. This procedure also provides intervention and consequences as well as prohibit reprisal or retaliation against individuals who report these acts in the learning environment.
II. Policy
It is the policy of Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) to create a safe and productive learning environments by prohibiting bullying, harassment, or intimidation of any person on school property, at school-sponsored activities, or by the use of electronic technology or in any manner that substantially disrupts the orderly operation of MSD or at a school-sponsored activity at MSD. MSD considers it important to ensure that school administrators take measures to promote the prevention of bullying, harassment, or intimidation in the learning environment and inform parents of these efforts. For more information, please refer to MSD's Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation Policy.
III. Background
In accordance with the provisions of Section 7-424.1 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Maryland State Board of Education developed and adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment, or intimidation. All local school systems were required to establish a policy prohibiting bullying, harassment, or intimidation based on the model policy by February 15, 2022. This administrative procedure focuses on bullying, harassment, or intimidation by students, whether against another student or individual.
IV. Definitions
V. Procedures
A. Reporting of Allegations
1. The Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form is used to report alleged incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation that occurred during the current school year on school property, at a school-sponsored activity or event off school property, on a school bus, on the way to and/or from school, through electronic communication on or off school property.
2. All staff, volunteers, and contractors who have reason to suspect that a student has been subjected to bullying, harassment, or intimidation, shall submit a report. Additionally, any student who has observed another student being bullied or has been or is being bullied by another student is encouraged to submit a report.
3. The Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form is available in a printable version, as well as online on the MSD website. The Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting forms will be easily accessible to anyone in the office of the Chief Educational Programs Officer (CEPO) as well as in the offices of the Mental Health team. Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting forms may be submitted by a student, parent/guardian, or staff member to school administration.
Ways to Report
> Safe Schools Maryland (1-833-B-SAFE/1-833-632-7233)
> Informal reporting (i.e. email, in person, etc.)
4. A student or parent/guardian may request assistance from a staff member to complete the form if needed. If a student expresses a desire to discuss an incident of bullying with a staff member, the staff member will provide the student with a practical, safe, private, and age-appropriate way of doing so.
B. Initial Parent Notification
The school administrator/designee should take prompt action to provide notice to parents/guardians. A parent or guardian of the alleged targeted and respondent student will be notified within 24 hours of the act being reported. Please refer to the sample parental notification letters as a reference.
C. Investigation of Alleged Incidents
1. A school administrator/designee will address incidents that occur on campus or have a connection back to the campus setting, that create a risk of harm to other students while they are on campus, or interferes with or disrupts the educational environment.
2. The school administrator/designee will initiate the investigation within two (2) school days after receipt of a report, when possible.
3. All allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation must be promptly and thoroughly investigated by MSD school administrator/designee. The investigation must be documented using the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form and include all notes or communication logs related to the specific incident.
NOTE: The length of time to complete an investigation may vary.
4. The following actions are to take place in order to allow the school administrator/designee to determine the appropriate course of action to address the behavior. The school administrator/designee will determine whether bullying, harassment, or intimidation occurred by taking the following steps:
a. Meet individually with the targeted student, the alleged offender, and any witnesses to gather information regarding the allegation.
b. Notify all parties involved in the incident that retaliation against a targeted student, witness, or bystander is strictly prohibited and may be subject to disciplinary consequence.
c. Documented findings and all notes taken during the student interviews, parent contacts, and information gathered from other witnesses on the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form.
d. Indicate findings on the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form to include whether or not the allegation was substantiated as bullying or not substantiated as bullying. If the incident is not substantiated, the reason(s) must be noted on the form.
e. Notify the parents/guardians of the targeted student and alleged offender of the outcome of the investigation once the investigation has been completed. The notification must respect the confidentiality of the targeted student and the alleged offender. Therefore, specific information related to disciplinary consequences will not be provided to the other parties involved. Please refer to the sample parental notification letters as a reference.
f. Some acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation could also be delinquent acts. If the acts are delinquent acts, the acts shall be reported promptly to the responsible law enforcement agency in accordance with the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 13A.08.01.15.
g. A copy of the completed Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form will be maintained by the MSD administrator/designee.
i. Information contained in a Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form is confidential and may not be re-disclosed except as allowable under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
ii. The Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form may not be made part of the student's permanent educational record as stipulated under Maryland law §7-424 Educational Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
NOTE: Copies of the form MUST be maintained in a confidential file or six (6) years in the office of the Chief Educational Programs Officer.
h. If at any time the parent/guardian has questions or concerns about the process, they may contact the school administrator whom they notified about the initial incident.
D. Complaints Against an Employee, Volunteer, Vendor, or Intern
1. Student complaints against a staff member will be initially investigated by the Chief Educational Programs Officer (CEPO)/designee in consultation with the Director of Human Resources. The CEPO/designee and the Director of Human Resources will jointly determine appropriate follow-up investigations as warranted.
2. The Director of Human Resources will investigate a complaint against a volunteer, vendor, intern, or other person having business or contact with MSD and will report findings and recommend appropriate action to the Superintendent upon the conclusion of the investigation.
E. Parental Notification Upon Conclusion of Investigation
1. Immediately upon the conclusion of the investigation, the school administrator/designee will notify the parent/guardian of the targeted student, and the parent/guardian of the alleged offender of the incident. Please refer to the sample parental notification letters as a reference.
a. The parent/guardian of the targeted student will be informed of the specific steps that the school will take to intervene, interrupt, and monitor the behaviors.
b. The parent/guardian of the alleged offender will be informed of the specific steps that the school will take to intervene, interrupt, and monitor the behaviors as well as the proposed consequences as stipulated in the Student Code of Conduct.
c. The parent/guardian of the targeted student may be invited to participate in the development of an intervention plan for their child.
d. The parent/guardian of the alleged offender may be invited to participate in the development of an intervention plan for their child.
e. Each parent/guardian will be provided with a copy of the intervention plan developed for their child.
NOTE: To respect the confidentiality, specific information related to disciplinary consequences will not be provided to the other parties involved.
F. Follow-Up Actions by the School Administrator/Designee
1. Separate conferences for the targeted student and the alleged offender will occur within ten (10) school days after the investigation has concluded to ensure that the bullying, harassment, or intimidation has ceased, and to determine whether there is a need for additional intervention. Individual conferences may occur as part of the counseling intervention.
2. A second conference will be held with the targeted student four (4) weeks after the initial conference to ensure that the bullying, harassment, or intimidation has ceased.
NOTE: The school administrator/designee will provide follow up communication with all parties involved upon completion of the follow up actions.
G. Prevention
1. MSD will provide preventive measures to prevent and reduce acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. These measures may include, but are not limited to, the following actions:
a. Each department principal/designee will provide annual in-service training to all staff on procedures to prevent, identify, report, and investigate allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
b. MSD will inform students and parents/guardians that bullying, harassment, or intimidation, including any demeaning or derogatory treatment of others based on race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socio-economic status, familial status, or physical or mental ability or disability, will not be condoned.
c. Parents/guardians will be informed about the availability of the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form through appropriate school communication (i.e., MSD website, parent newsletters, MSD handbook, Office of Chief Educational Programs Officer, etc.).
d. MSD will inform students about the availability and use of the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form and its use during back to school orientation sessions, newsletter, website, etc.
e. MSD will conduct developmentally appropriate prevention activities, such as:
1. Providing training to all students on behaviors that constitute bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
2. Holding regular classroom meetings with students to discuss safety concerns.
3. Clarifying and reinforcing classroom rules against bullying, harassment, or intimidation and associated consequences according to the Student Code of Conduct.
4. Conducting regular classroom lessons on social emotional learning that builds student capacity for developing healthy peer relationships, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision making.
5. Conducting classroom lessons on sensitivity and tolerance, including those based on a person's age, ability (cognitive, social emotional, and physical), ethnicity/race, family structure, language, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ancestry, physical attributes, and socio-economic status.
6. Celebrating the annual national anti-bullying week.
H. Interventions
1. MSD will provide intervention and support to targeted students and alleged offenders to address acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. These interventions may include, but are not limited to, the following actions:
a. Parent/student conferences
b. Counseling with the Mental Health Service providers (i.e. school counselor, school psychologist, social worker, professional school nurse, and/or other appropriate professional staff).
c. Behavioral contracts
d. Behavioral supports, such as functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention plans, etc.
NOTE: An IEP team must be convened in order to obtain parental consent to conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment.
e. Support counseling for the targeted student with protection from retaliation and further episodes of bullying.
f. Support counseling for the alleged offender specific to the motivation of the bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
g. Support counseling for the alleged offender will include, among others, teaching replacement behaviors, empathy, tolerance, and sensitivity to diversity.
h. Support counseling for bystanders.
i. Increased adult supervision during unstructured times (i.e., classroom changes, lunch, recess, etc.).
j. Social skills training, including role playing and behavioral rehearsal.
k. Schedule of adjustment.
l. Development of a plan of support for the targeted student and alleged offender.
m. Utilize community health and mental health resources for those students who are unable to stop bullying behaviors in spite of school interventions and for those students involved in bullying behaviors as targeted students or witnesses whose mental or physical health, safety, or academic performance has been impacted.
I. Consequences
1. Consequences and support strategies for students committing acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation; engaged in reprisal or retaliation; or reporting false accusations shall be consistently and fairly applied after appropriate investigation has determined that such an offense has occurred. A range of consequences is contained in the Student Code of Conduct.
2. MSD should avoid using exclusionary discipline measures when addressing bullying behavior and such measures should only be use after all other available and appropriate behavioral interventions have been exhausted or if a student's continued presence in school would pose a threat to the safety of others. Suspensions, expulsions, or protective orders must not be viewed as punishments designed to prevent bullying. Instead, these are means of protecting the targeted student by providing community containment, while positive behavioral discipline is implemented.
VI. Appeal Process
Targeted Student's Right to Appeal
If the complainant or parent/guardian is dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, they may appeal to the superintendent by filing a written notice of appeal within five (5) school days of receiving the written decision. The superintendent will review the investigative report and issue a written decision on the merits of the appeal within five (5) school days of receiving the notice of appeal. The superintendent's decision will be the final school decision.
NOTE: The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is familiar with the reporting and investigation procedures of Maryland School for the Deaf. Individuals with questions may contact the following MSDE staff:
Brad Engel
School Climate Initiatives Specialist
Division of Student Support, Academic Enrichment, and Educational Policy
Division of Early Intervention
Special Education Services
410-767-0306
VII. Monitoring and Compliance
A. The school administrator/designee is responsible for thoroughly investigating and documenting all allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation reported to the school.
B. The school administrator/designee shall maintain copies of completed Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Forms in the office of Chief Educational Programs Officer for six (6) years.
C. The school administrator/designee shall maintain records of annual in-service training to all school-based staff on procedures to prevent, identify, report and investigate allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation for six (6) years.
D. The Director of Compliance or designee shall conduct quarterly reviews of all bullying, harassment, or intimidation reports to ensure data accuracy.
E. The school administrator/designee must provide annual training to the school administrator/designee on appropriate guidelines for reporting, investigating, and documenting all reports of bullying.
VIII. Attachments
IX. Legal References
Md. Education Code Ann. § 7-424
Md. Education Code Ann. § 7-424.1
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE HISTORY
- Revised: August 2023 (titles/positions)
- Revised: March 2023
- Adopted: January 9, 2023
- Reviewed: November 2022