|  | Student-Parent Handbook: Bullying Policy Marist School recognizes that bullying is an inappropriate behavior that has destructive and negative effects on individual students and on the overall climate of a school. Marist School believes that all students are entitled to a safe and secure learning environment; bullying works against the achievement of that goal. Bullying is a behavior that should never be tolerated. It is important that teachers, students, and parents take a stand against all bullying behaviors.
The Marist School staff is committed to a policy that identifies and punishes those students who become involved in bullying behaviors according to the below-listed procedures/ regulations. Marist School expects that all students will refrain from becoming involved in any bullying behaviors. Failure to comply with these expectations will result in disciplinary action according to the established procedures/ regulations. In addition, it is expected that all bystanders (third party witnesses) will refrain from supporting bullying behaviors in either an active or passive manner. In fact, it is further expected that bystanders will report the bullying incident(s) to the designated authority. It is important to note that Marist School views bullying through the eyes of the bullied.
Each year, the Marist School staff will educate students in all grade levels to help them identify and respond to the dangers of bullying. |
10.1 Bullying Procedures/Regulations
Bullying is defined as a deliberately hurtful behavior that is repeated over a period of time and results in those being bullied not being able to defend themselves. The three main types of bullying are physical, verbal (direct and indirect), and relational.
Students who become involved in bullying will be subject to the following five- step process:
Step 1 – A student who is bullied (victim) by another student should contact an adult (parent, teacher, coach, moderator, counselor, advisor, or administrator). Likewise a bystander should also contact an adult.
Step 2 – With the second incident, the victim should confront the bully and clearly inform him/her that the actions/words have been harmful and should be stopped. In addition the victim should contact the same adult as contacted previously.
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Step 3 – With the third incident, the victim should report the bullying to the Dean of Students or submit a “Bullying Complaint Form” to the same office. The Dean of Students will investigate the complaint and, if warranted, will issue a “Cease and Desist Order” to the bully in addition to a minimum of ten demerits. In addition to direct notification, a copy of that order will be mailed to the parents/ guardians of the bully. A referral for a mediation conference with the Dean of Students is a mandatory part of this step. It should be noted that the burden of proof in a disputed case will rest with the bully, not the victim. The victim will not be expected to prove that he/she was bullied; the bully will be expected to prove that he/she did not violate the policy to the satisfaction of the Dean of Students.
Step 4 – If a student defies the “Cease and Desist Order” and continues the bullying behavior, he/she will be suspended from school and sent before the Discipline Committee.
Step 5 – If the bullying behavior persists after the suspension, the offending student will normally be dismissed from school.
It should be noted that once an in-school bullying behavior has been reported and the “Five-Step Process” has been invoked, subsequent incidents both in and out of school will be considered. Furthermore, Marist School reserves the right to administer disciplinary consequences after investigating any of the reported incidents depending on the nature and seriousness of the offense.
This policy and its procedures/regulations will be distributed to all students at the beginning of each school year. It will also be referenced in the current year’s Parent/Student Handbook.
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