San Mateo Grand jury suggests schools address bullying

May 25, 2011, 03:53 AM Daily Journal Staff Report

Bullying has gained wide media coverage in recent years but many San Mateo County districts have neither a policy regarding such harassment nor a method for handling the problem — an issue the grand jury recommends be addressed within the next year.

In a five-page report released Tuesday, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury explored what rules are in place throughout the county and found much work is needed. Only two of the 23 county school districts — San Mateo Union and Cabrillo Unified — have bullying policies. Eighteen, including the previous two, have some form of harassment policy which does not necessarily include cyber bullying, according to the report.

As a result, the grand jury recommended the San Mateo County superintendent of schools facilitate a meeting before the end of the 2011-12 school year to develop standardized policies on bullying and enforcement of those rules. The public should then be made aware of the goals and possible punishment for bullying.

Defining bullying as “aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power or strength,” the report noted it can take many forms like physical violence, name calling, intimidation, exclusion or online posts. In 2003, the California Department of Education published Bullying at School to assist school communities in recognizing, understanding, defining and responding to bullying. California Education Code gives districts the ability to suspend or expel students for bullying but not all districts have policies on such procedures, according to the report.

Five districts — Bayshore, Hillsborough, La Honda-Pescadero, San Carlos and Woodside — have neither a bullying nor a harassment policy, according to the report. Ten districts have no enforcement policy when it comes to bullying. Many do, however, use a good conduct code or administrative recourse for acts of harassment.


To read the full report visit www.sanmateocountycourt.org/grandjury.

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