The School Board of Monroe County is committed to providing an educational setting that is safe, secure, and free from harassment and bullying for all of its students and school employees. The District expects all stakeholders to conduct themselves in keeping with their levels of development, maturity, and demonstrated abilities with 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.
If you fear a student or employee is in IMMEDIATE danger, contact their school office, the police or the Monroe County School District at (305) 293-1400 ext 53392 immediately!
PLEASE NOTE: to be classified as bullying or harassment, all three of the following criteria must be present:
- There is a perceived imbalance of power in this incident
- The behavior is repeated
- The victim's educational environment has been adversely affected, i.e. they feel discomfort / humiliation or intimidation
- Definitions of Bullying and /
What is Bullying?
"Bullying" means systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students and may involve:
- Teasing
- Social exclusion
- Threat
- Intimidation
- Stalking
- Physical violence
- Theft
- Sexual, religious or racial harassment
- Public humiliiation
- Destruction of personal or school property
What is harassment?
Harassment” means any threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture, use of data or computer software, or written, verbal, or physical conduct directed against a student or school employee that:
- Places a student or school employee in reasonable fear of harm to his or her person or damage to his/her or school property;
- Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; or
- Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of a school.
Any student or student's parent/guardian who believes s/he has been or is the victim of bullying or harassment should immediately report the situation to the school principal. The student may also report concerns to teachers and other school staff who will be responsible for notifying the appropriate administrator. This form should be dropped or mailed to the School Office and/or may be mailed or copied to:
Monroe County School District Office
241 Trumbo Road, Key West FL 33040
Reporting
To be considered an official means of reporting act(s) of bullying and/or harassment, written or oral reporting would be required. Formal disciplinary action may not be based solely on the basis of an anonymous report.
However, anonymous reporting is helpful when repeated behavior is considered.
Thank you for reporting bullying or harassment. A report submission will be followed up within two (2) school/work days. A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine if the actions are classified as bullying. After the investigation, an action plan will be developed for the impacted students. Bullying can be damaging to the well-being of the victim, those who watch it and even the aggressor in the situation. It creates a climate of isolation, fear and disrespect. Bullying is not an innate action, it is a learned behavior. There are many reasons a child may bully, they may not have adequate resources to deal with home or school pressures, or they may have been bullied themselves. The District is committed to providing the tools and resources to all students to prevent bullying. If bullying is not substantiated, another infraction may still apply and will be dealt with accordingly.
