Massachusetts Bullying Prevention Law

I. Documents to Download

 • Click on Anti-Bullying Bill – Full Text to download the complete bill that passed April 29th. I've highlighted some key provisions.

 • Model Plan from the DESE. Click DESE Model Plan to download. The plan includes a cover memo from DESE and a sample form for reporting incidents.

 • The DESE regulations have been approved and can be downloaded at Final Bullying Regulations. The regulations elaborate on and clarify certain requirements of the law. You will note that except for the requirement of having and implementing a plan, our "non-public" schools have been deliberately omitted from most of the requirements. The DESE lawyer I spoke with said this was because they had decided that their regulatory authority does not extend to non-public schools. Conclusion: the regulations add nothing new to what we have already described as your responsibilities below and need not concern you.

 See on-line resources below.

 II. General Advice (updated 10-26-10)

• First of all, relax a bit (if you've been stressing about this). Bullying is simply a particular kind of disciplinary offense; you know how to deal with those.

 • You will NEVER have to show your plan to any branch of  the state government.

 • Be sure your plan sounds like you, reflecting your mission, values and culture. The plan, itself, should be educative.

 • Remember that your plan does NOT have to include the following: bullying prevention curriculum; professional development for staff; or submission of your plan to any agency.

 • You may certainly decide to provide professional development and modify your curriculum; it is your choice.

 • Creating a plan should NOT be complicated, especially as you are exempt from the most burdensome parts of the law (something AISNE worked hard to ensure). And since I serve on the Attorney General's Bullying Prevention Commission, I will represent your interests and be sure to keep you up to date on any developments.

 • Since the law provides no civil or criminal penalties for not having a plan, and the state does not want to see your plan, your greatest exposure for not having a plan would be liability.

• As you craft your plan, consider following the DESE model at least in terms of structure (see above to download), and keeping it shorter rather than longer, will be your best bet. Should you ever find yourselves having to defend your plan in, say, some kind of law suit, it will be helpful to be able to demonstrate that you have followed, as needed, the model plan produced by the DESE. You can certainly also reference or borrow from other existing policies, some of which may definitely overlap.

 • Be sure your attorney has approved your plan and that your Board has voted to approve it.

III. More specifics on what you need to do by December 31st.:
     • define bullying (including cyberbullying) and explicitly prohibit it;  pages 12 and 13 of Model. It would be wise to use  the state definitions; you may wish to add to them, as needed. You may wish to use some of the other terms as well
     • be clear about who will be responsible for responding to reports of bullying; you designate a person or persons
     • explain the process you will follow when bullying is reported; could be the same as any other disciplinary situation

     • When you have a draft, invite parents to provide feedback, allowing, say, a ten-day period for comments
     • notify parents students, and staff annually about the plan;  this can be done in your handbooks.
     • explain when and how you will liaise with local enforcement: meet now with local law enforcement and determine how you can best work together in determining if a bullying incident may, in fact, meet the threshold of a crime. When in doubt, as with any other situation that may involve criminal behavior (hazing, statutory rape, assault etc.), consult with your law enforcment folks and be  guided by them. Keep records of these contacts.
     • and define resources available to those involved in bullying incidents (targets, aggressors and families). in handbooks
  N.B.: Remember that the professional development, curriculum development and plan submission to DESE requirements do NOT apply to AISNE schools. Our schools are also exempt from the complicated consultation requirements (Sec. 370, d) of the law.

IV. Resources

Resources to Download :

1.) State of Wisconsin Guidelines for Bullying Prevention Programs

2.) US DOE Memo on Bullying Prevention

3.) FAQs about Bullying from Olweus Program (pioneer of current practice)

Online Resources:

 • The Cyberbullying Resource Center (Sameer Hinduja is one of the creators) has an extraordinary welath of reources on cyberbulling.

• The DOE has an excellent site, Stop Bullying Now, with lots of resources.

• The Olweus Foundation has a range of excellent materials. Olweus pretty much wrote the book on preventing and responding to bullying.

• I recommend this New York Times piece on bullying.

 A little background on AISNE's work on this bill:

Since the bills were first introduced in the house and senate, we have, via Shanley Fleming & Associates (our government relations firm) followed the bills closely and communicated our questions and comments to the staff of the Joint Committee. While we conveyed our strong support of the goal of eliminating bullying from schools, we did point out that both the curriculum and professional development provisions would require the state to provide resources to "non-public schools," something the state almost never does. The Committee ultimately decided to specifically exempt "non-public schools" from a number of the provisions. As much as possible and responsible, AISNE will always seek to ensure your independence from government mandates.