PHILADELPHIA ELECTRICAL & TECHNOLOGY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
BULLYING/HARASSMENT POLICY
Policy Statement
Philadelphia Electrical
& Technology Charter
High School prohibits
acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying. A safe and civil environment in
school is necessary for pupils to learn and achieve high academic standards.
Harassment, intimidation or bullying, like other disruptions or violent
behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a pupil’s ability to learn and a
school’s ability to educate its pupils in a safe environment; and since pupils
learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers should
be commended for demonstrating appropriate behavior, treating others with
civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation or
bullying.
Definition
Bullying is any hurtful or
aggressive act toward an individual or group that is intentional and repeated.
There is typically a real or perceived imbalance of physical power, a social
network or verbal skills that favor the perpetrator(s).
Harassment, intimidation or
bullying means any gesture, written or physical act that takes place on school
property, at any school-sponsored function, or on the way to and from school
and that:
1. Is motivated by any actual or perceived characteristics,
such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory
disability; or
2. By any other
distinguishing characteristic; and
3. A reasonable person should know under the circumstances,
that the acts will have the effect of harming a pupil or damaging the pupil’s
property, or placing a pupil in reasonable fear of harm to his/her person or
his/her property; or
4. Has the effect of insulting or demeaning any pupil or
group of pupils in such a way as to cause substantial disruption in, or
substantial interference with, the orderly operation of the school.
5. They can
bully in direct ways, such as:
a. hitting, tripping, shoving, pinching,
excessive touching
b. verbal threats, name-calling, racial
slurs, insults
c. demanding money, property, service and
d. stabbing, choking, etc
6. They can
also bully in indirect ways, such as:
a. Rejecting, excluding, isolating;
b. Ranking or rating, humiliating;
c. Manipulating friends and relationships;
d. Writing hurtful or threatening emails and
postings on web sites and
e. Blackmailing, terrorizing and proposing
dangerous dares
7. Other things
to know about bullying:
a. Some students are bullies; others are
targets of bullying;
b. A student can be both a target and a
bully at the same time;
c. Some students are bystanders; bystanders can be either
passive or active;
d. Some acts of bullying at school can result in suspension
and/or expulsion;
e. Bullying breaks the laws when it becomes stealing,
assault and battery, extortion, sexual harassment, hate crimes and other
criminal acts;
f. Administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents
must accept responsibility to recognize and report and/or intervene with
bullying when it occurs.
8. School bullying affects the safety and social well being
of the entire school community.
Expected Behavior
Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter High School
expects students to conduct themselves in keeping with their levels of
development, maturity and demonstrated capabilities with a proper regard for
the rights and welfare of other students and school staff, the educational
purpose underlying all school activities, and the care of school facilities and
equipment.
Philadelphia Electrical & Technology
believes that standards for student behavior must be set cooperatively through
interaction among the students, parents, or legal guardians, staff and
community members, producing an atmosphere that encourages pupils to grow in
self-discipline. The development of this atmosphere requires respect for staff
and others as well as for school property on the part of students, staff and
community members.
The school believes the best
discipline is self-imposed and it is the responsibility of the school staff to
use disciplinary situations as opportunities to help students learn to assume
and accept responsibility for their behavior and the consequence of their
behavior. Staff members who interact with pupils shall apply the best practices
to prevent discipline problems and encourage student’s abilities to grow in
self discipline.
General guidelines for pupil
conduct have been developed by the CEO, in conjunction with the school staff
and approved by the Board of Trustees. These guidelines have been developed
based on accepted core ethical values from broad community involvement with
input from school employees, pupils and administrators. This policy requires
all students to adhere to these rules and guidelines and to submit to such
disciplinary measures as are appropriately assigned for infraction of these
rules and guidelines.
Philadelphia Electrical
& Technology Charter
High School prohibits
active and passive support for harassment, intimidation or bullying. Students
are encouraged to support other students who walk away from these acts when
they see them, constructively attempt to stop them and report these acts to the
administrators of the school.
The administration will provide
annually to pupils and their parents or legal guardian(s) the rules of the
school regarding pupil conduct, pupil’s due process and other rights. Parent(s)
or legal guardian(s) are asked to read the handbook and sign the Code of
Conduct contract saying they have read and understand the rules and regulations
of the school.
Consequences and Appropriate
Remedial Action
The following factors will be
considered in determining the appropriate response to pupils who commit one (1)
or more acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying:
1. The
development and maturity levels of parties involved
2. The level of
harm;
3. The
surrounding circumstances;
4. The nature
of the behavior(s);
5.
Past.incidence or continuing patterns of behavior;
6. The
relationship between the parties involved; and
7. The context
in which the alleged incident occurred.
Concluding whether a particular
action or incident constitutes a violation of this policy requires a
determination based on all of the facts and surrounding circumstances.
An appropriate consequence will
be determined after meaningful consideration of these factors. Consequences and
appropriate remedial action for pupils who commit acts of harassment,
intimidation or bullying may range from positive behavioral interventions up to
and including suspension or expulsion. The appropriate consequence will be
consistent with federal and state statutes, and school policies and
regulations.
Possible Appropriate Action
1. Meeting with student, parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and
the Disciplinarian regarding the behavior being exhibited and the remediation
of such behavior.
2. Regular
meetings with the school counselor regarding such behaviors
3. Meeting of the Discipline Committee of the school to
determine the extent of remediation necessary for the behavior being exhibited.
4. Blatant or
continuing acts of bullying can result in suspension and/or expulsion.
Reporting Procedure
Any student who feels he or she
is being bullied, harassed, discriminated against, or who is aware of bullying,
harassment or discrimination should report it immediately to the administrator,
a guidance counselor, teacher or any staff person. Any student who is found to
have engaged in behavior that is related to bullying, harassment, and/or
discrimination will be subject to immediate and severe disciplinary action.
Actions may include but are not limited to detention, suspension and/or
expulsion from the school. In the event of suspension/expulsion guidelines will
be followed in accordance with the school’s policy.
If harassment and/or
discrimination is found to have occurred, prompt and appropriate remedial
action will be taken in addition to discipline of the offender.
In all cases, parent(s) or legal
guardian(s) will be advised of the incident and the action to be taken.
No student or employee will be
retaliated against for reporting bullying, harassment or discrimination or
participating in an investigation concerning these issues.
Consequences for False Accusation
Consequences and appropriate
remedial action for a pupil found to have falsely accused another as a means of
harassment, intimidation or bullying range from positive behavioral
intervention up to and including suspension or expulsion.
Consequences and appropriate
remedial action for a school employee found to have falsely accused another as
a means of harassment, intimidation or bullying shall be disciplined in
accordance with the school policies and procedures.
Sexual Harassment
Unwanted or unwelcome contact of
a sexual nature directed toward another individual is prohibited, regardless of
whether the contact is by word, gesture; or other sexual conduct. Students are
expected to treat other students and staff with courtesy and respect, and avoid
any behavior, action, or activity that is offensive and disrespectful. All
staff members are expected to be diligent in seeing that the school environment
is free from sexual harassment and/or harassment in general. PE&T will not
tolerate harassment on the part of any student or staff member. Any staff
member or student who witnesses or is the victim of sexual harassment should
report it immediately to the Assistant Principal for Student Services.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is using e-mail,
chat rooms, websites and other forms of electric communication to
send mean-spirited messages, make cruel and harmful remarks about individuals, post
unflattering or derogatory photos, make direct threats or encourage acts of violence,
or sexually harass. Cyberbullying is the
repeated misuse of these technologies to harass, intimidate, bully, or
terrorize another person. Cyberbullies can
typically be individuals or cliques.
All PE&T students are given
training on recognizing and avoiding cyberbullying. Students are urged to protect themselves
online by talking about bullying in general with friends, teachers and family;
discussing what personal information is appropriate to tell others, and what is
not; visiting some popular teen sites with parents, teachers, or friends and
discussing what is there and what could be a danger, learning to develop
realistic expectations for both personal and on-line relationships; keeping passwords, pictures and secrets to oneself;
and saving the evidence - on ones computer or print out if cyberbullying occurs.
If a student determines that
cyberbullying is actually going on, they are taught to save the evidence, identify
the sender and contact their ISP (Internet
Service Provider) if necessary. Threats,
extortion, sexual harassment should be reported to the police (if warranted, an
attorney should be contacted).