Round Rock trustees considering update to policy on campus bullying
The Round Rock school district on Thursday evening discussed possible updates to its policies on bullying.
If adopted, the policy will establish clear guidelines for how all campuses document bullying investigations, provide supportive measures to affected students and increase communications and transparency with families, district staff said.
The updates to the district's policy include the addition of identity-based bullying, clarifying that one or more people can be involved in the bullying act, adds unwanted physical contact and intimidation through words, gestures, slurs or epithets as bullying.
The district defined identity-based bullying as targeting a person's perceived race, ethnicity, color, nationality, sex, gender, religion or disability status.
According to records obtained by the American-Stateman, the district had 13 cases of bullying or harassment based on sex or gender between 2020 and 2023.
Additionally, the new policy has sections dedicated to how the district will prevent and respond to bullying and what supportive measures it will provide to a targeted student. The update also expands the actions the district must take when providing parents or guardians notice of the bullying after the conclusion of the investigation.
The district will provide supportive measures to all students despite their role in a bullying incident. Supportive measure may include counseling, extension of assignment deadlines or modified class schedules.
"This is a really exciting policy that makes sure we are protecting all students," said Trustee Tiffanie Harrison, who brought up the measure. "Which I think ultimately uplifts their ability to be safe in our schools and be treated with dignity and humanity, and to learn well."
In the summer, the district will develop and implement training modules for the new policy. From August through December, the district will provide training to campus leaders, staff, students and families. The board did not say when they will discuss the measure again.
Before trustees discussed the measures, some community members spoke in favor of a policy that would help address identity-based bullying.
Angie McDaniel, speaking on behalf of the grassroots group Access Education RRISD, said identity-based bullying can have harmful long-term effects on a student. She said the proposed policy helps solve issues that parents have, and ensures a student's safety after ban incident.
"Every student in our district deserves the freedom to learn in a safe environment," she said. "We strongly support the adoption of this policy and urge you to support it."
Parent Crystal Lane said a strengthening of the bullying policy is long overdue and needed.
"I have seen so many examples of the need of this policy," she said. "There is too much variation in how these incidents are handled campus to campus. The district must provide campuses with a clear policy so that both students and staff are protected when these incidents occur, and so parents know which protocols will be followed regardless of which campus is addressing the incident."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Round Rock trustees considering update to bullying policy
