Safe School Climate Plan

Ledyard Public Schools 
District Safe School Climate Plan

Reference:

Board of Education Policy 5131.911

Forms:

Bullying Complainant Reporting Form

District Safe School Climate and Title IX Coordinator:
Assistant Superintendent
4 Blonder Boulevard 
Ledyard, CT 06339, 860-464-9255



Ledyard Public Schools Safe School Climate Plan 

The Board believes that a comprehensive program involving both staff and students of Ledyard Public Schools is essential to reducing incidents of bullying. To this end, the Board directs the Superintendent to promulgate such administrative rules and procedures as is necessary to implement the following Safe School Climate Plan elements in each school:

1.  Enable students to anonymously report acts of bullying to school employees and require that students and their parents/guardians be notified at the beginning of each school year of the process by which students may make such reports.

2.  Enable the parents/guardians of students to file written reports of suspected bullying.

3. Require school employees who witness acts of bullying or receive reports of bullying to orally notify the Safe School Climate Specialist, or another school administrator if the Safe School Climate Specialist is unavailable, not later than one school day after such school employee witnesses or receives a report of bullying and to file a written report not later than two school days after making the oral report.

4. Require the Safe School Climate Specialist to investigate or supervise the investigation of all reports of bullying and ensure that such investigation is completed promptly after receipt of any written reports made regarding bullying. Require that the Safe School Climate Specialist give prompt notice that the investigation has commenced to the parents or guardians of the student alleged to have committed an act or acts of bullying and to the parents or guardians of the student against whom such alleged act or acts were directed.

5. Require the Safe School Climate Specialist to review any anonymous reports of bullying, except that no disciplinary action shall be taken solely on the basis of an anonymous report.

6. Include a prevention and intervention strategy, as outlined later in this policy, for school employees to deal with bullying.

7. Require each school to include language in student codes of conduct concerning bullying.

8.  Require each school to notify the parents/guardians of students who commit any verified acts of bullying and the parents/guardians of students against whom such acts were directed not later than forty-eight hours after the completion of the investigation. The parents will receive the results of the investigation both verbally and by electronic mail, and parents/guardians shall be referred to the “plain language” explanation of the rights and remedies posted on the district’s website.

9.  Require each school to invite the parents or guardians of the student against whom such act was directed to a meeting to communicate to such parents or guardians the measures being taken by the school to ensure the safety of the student against whom such act was directed and the policies and procedures in place to prevent further acts of bullying. These invitations shall include a description of the response of school employees to such acts and any consequences that may result from the commission of further acts of bullying.

10.  Require each school to invite the parents or guardians of a student who commits any verified act of bullying to a meeting, separated and distinct from the meeting described in step 9, above, to discuss specific interventions undertaken by the school to prevent further acts of bullying.

11.  Require each school to document and maintain records relating to reports and investigations of bullying in the school, maintain a list of the number of verified acts of bullying in the school, make such list available for public inspection, and annually report that number to the Department of Education in such manner as is prescribed by the Commissioner of Education.

12.  Direct the development of case-by-case interventions for addressing repeated incidents of bullying against a single individual or recurrently perpetuated bullying incidents by the same individual.  Such interventions may include both counseling and discipline.

13.  Prohibit discrimination and retaliation against an individual who reports or assists in the investigation of an act of bullying.

14.  Direct the development of student safety support plans for students against whom an act of bullying was directed that address safety measures the school will take to protect such students against further acts of bullying.

15.  Require the school Principal, or his/her designee, to notify Ledyard Police when the Principal, or his/her designee, believes that any acts of bullying constitute criminal conduct.

16.  Require that, at the beginning of each school year, each school  provide all school employees with a written or electronic copy of the District’s Safe School Climate Plan.

17.  Require that all school employees annually complete training on (1) the prevention of and response to youth suicide, and (2) the identification and prevention of and response to bullying. This training should specifically cover District-wide and school-specific procedures regarding these topics. Additionally, all school employees shall complete the annual training provided by the Department of Education on these topics.

Prevention and Intervention Strategy

Each school shall implement a prevention and intervention strategy for school employees to deal with bullying and teen dating violence that may include, but is not limited to:


1.  Implementation of a positive behavioral intervention and support process or another evidence- based model approach for a safe school climate or for the prevention of bullying and teen dating violence identified by the Department of Education.

2.  School rules prohibiting bullying, teen dating violence, harassment and intimidation and establishing appropriate consequences for those who engage in such acts.

3.  Adequate adult supervision of outdoor areas, hallways, the lunchroom and other specific areas where bullying or teen dating violence is likely to occur.

4.  Inclusion of grade-appropriate bullying and teen dating violence education and prevention curricula in kindergarten through high school.

5.  Individual interventions with the student(s) presenting bullying behaviors, his/her parents/guardians and school employees, and interventions with the bullied child, his/her parents/guardians and school staff. (If the student  who engaged in the bullying is a student with a disability, the student’s PPT will review his or her IEP and make adjustments if needed.)

6.  School-wide training related to a safe school climate.

7.  Student peer training, education and support.

8.  Promotion of parent/guardian involvement in bullying prevention through individual or team participation in meetings, training and individual interventions.

9. 
Culturally competent school-based curriculum focusing on social-emotional learning, self- awareness and self-regulation. Funding for the school-based bullying intervention and school climate improvement strategy may originate from public, private, federal, or philanthropic sources. For the purposes of this policy, “interventions with the bullied child,” includes referrals to a school counselor, psychologist, or other appropriate social or mental health service, and periodic follow- up by the safe school climate specialist with the bullied child.


District Safe School Climate Coordinator

The Board appoints the Assistant Superintendent as the District Safe School Climate Coordinator who shall:

  • Be responsible for implementing the District’s Safe School Climate Plan;
  • Collaborate with the Safe School Climate Specialists from each school, the Board and the     Superintendent to prevent, identify and respond to bullying and teen dating violence in Ledyard  Public Schools;
  • Provide data and information, in collaboration with the Superintendent, to the Department of Education regarding bullying and teen dating violence; and

  • Meet with the Safe School Climate Specialists at least twice during the school year to discuss issues relating to bullying and teen dating violence in the District and to make recommendations concerning amendments to the District’s Safe School Climate Plan.  

  • Successfully complete the mental health first aid training provided by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services. (Such training is only required once.)


Safe School Climate Specialists

The Principal of each school, or his/her designee as approved by the Superintendent, shall serve as the Safe School Climate Specialist and shall:

  • Investigate or supervise the investigation of reported acts of bullying in the school in accordance with the District’s Safe School Climate Plan;

  • Collect and maintain records of reports and investigations of bullying in the school; and

  • Act as the primary school official responsible for preventing, identifying and responding to reports of bullying in the school


School Climate Assessments

Yearly  each school shall complete an assessment using the school climate assessment instruments, including surveys, approved and disseminated by the Department of Education. The District Safe School Climate Coordinator shall collect the safe school climate assessments for each school, report the results to the Board, and submit them in the manner specified to the Department of Education.

Each school’s Safe School Climate Committee shall:

1. Receive copies of completed reports following investigations of bullying;
2. Identify and address patterns of bullying among students in the school;
3  Implement the provisions of the school security and safety plan regarding the collection, evaluation and reporting of information relating to instances of bullying or teen dating violence;
4. Review and amend school policies relating to bullying;
5. Review and make recommendations to the District Safe School Climate Coordinator regarding the   District’s Safe School Climate Plan based on issues and experiences specific to the school;
6. Educate students, school employees and parents/guardians of students on issues relating to    bullying;
7. Collaborate with the District Safe School Climate Coordinator in the collection of school data  regarding bullying; and
8. Perform any other duties as determined by the school Principal that are related to the prevention, identification and response to school bullying for the school.