1. 
Mesquite ISD
Bullying Prevention
EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY
Kindness and Respect for ALL

2. EVERYONE HAS A ROLE IN STOPPING
BULLYING
 Administrators
 Counselors
 Teachers
 Staff Members
 Support Personnel
 Parents

3. Facts About Bullying
 Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional,
hurtful, repeated (or severe), and involves an
imbalance of power
 Bullying can seriously affect the emotional, physical,
and academic well-being of students who are bullied
 Dealing with problems related to bullying can take a
good deal of educators’ time during the school day
 Bullying contributes to a negative school climate
 Bullying is more prevalent than many adults suspect

4.  Studies show between 15-25% of US students are
bullied while 15-20% report that THEY bully with
frequency
 School violence has declined 4% yet incidences of
behaviors associated with bullying have risen 5%
 Children with special needs are at a higher risk of
being bullied
 Boys are more likely to physically bully than girls
 Boys are bullied by other boys while girls report being
bullied by boys and girls

5.  Verbal bullying is the most frequent form of bullying
 Girls are more likely to report being targets of rumor
spreading and sexual comments
 Girls are more likely to bully each other using social
exclusion
 Stresses of being bullied can interfere with student’s
engagement and learning in school
 Bullying also has impact on bystanders
 Bullying creates a climate of fear and disrespect and
has a negative impact

6. Perceptions
 In one study, 70% of teachers believe that teachers
intervene “almost always” in bullying situations
 Only 25% of students agreed with this assessment
 Students often feel that adult intervention is
infrequent and unhelpful and they often fear that
telling adults will only bring more harassment
from bullies

7. Bullying takes many forms
 Nonverbal or Emotional
Examples: intimidation using
gestures, social exclusion,
facial expressions with
malicious intent, spreading
rumors
 Cyber bullying
Examples: posting or
sending insulting, harassing, or
threatening messages through
electronic means
 Physical
Examples: hitting,
punching, pushing,
damaging one’s property,
hazing
 Verbal
Examples: teasing, name
calling, threatening remarks,
taunting, embarrassing
others

8. Bullying / Harassment / Hazing
Student Handbook and Code of Conduct
Texas law prohibits students from engaging in,
encouraging, aiding or assisting in bullying,
harassment, or hazing.
A student found to have engaged in, encouraged, aided,
assisted in, or had knowledge of and failed to report a
bullying, harassment or hazing incident will be
subject to discipline.
Retaliation against any person reporting an incident of
bullying or harassment is prohibited.

9. What is Bullying?
Definition
 Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in written or verbal
expression, expression through electronic methods, or physical conduct against
another student on school property, at a school-sponsored or a school-related
activity, or in a district-operated vehicle, and the behavior:
 Results in harm to the student or the student’s property
 Places a student in reasonable fear of physical harm or of damage to the
student’s property, or
 Is so severe, persistent, and pervasive that it creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment. .
 This conduct is considered bullying if it exploits an imbalance of power
between the student perpetrator(s) and the student victim and if it interferes
with a student’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of the
school.
 Bullying is prohibited by the district and could include hazing, threats, taunting,
teasing, confinement, assault, demands for money, destruction of property, theft of
valued possessions, name-calling, rumor spreading, or ostracism.

10. IS IT BULLYING?
The answer to ALL 4 questions must be yes to determine whether written, verbal,
electronic, or physical conduct is considered bullying.
OR
1.
2. 3. 4.
4.

11. Disabled Students and Bullying
A student enrolled in a special education program may not be
disciplined for conduct defined as bullying or harassment until an
admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee has been held to
review the conduct.
An ARD or 504 Committee meeting must be held for an identified
disabled student to determine if bullying is a direct result of a
disability and if bullying has impacted FAPE (Free and Appropriate
Public Education). The committee should determine if the student’s
program is appropriate.

12. Definition of Harassment
Conduct that threatens to cause harm or bodily
injury to another student, is sexually intimidating,
causes physical damage to the property of another
student, subjects another student to physical
confinement or restraint, or maliciously and
substantially harms another student’s physical or
emotional health or safety.

13. Definition of Hazing
Hazing means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act
occurring on or off the campus of an educational
institution directed against a student, by one person alone
or acting with others, that endangers the mental or
physical health or the safety of a student for the purpose
of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding
office in, or maintaining membership in any organization
whose members are or include other students.

14. The Bully
 Students that frequently bully others may also:
 have other anti-social or violent behavior such as
 frequent fighting
 vandalism or stealing
 anger issues
 alcohol/tobacco/drug use
 have witnessed family physical or emotional abuse
 want to fit into a peer group through bullying so as
not to be bullied
 have been bullied themselves

15. Warning Signs for Parents and Educators
A student that is being bullied may exhibit the following:
 Loses interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in
school
 Appears sad, moody, teary, depressed or shows other changes in
behavior at school or home
 Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or other
physical ailments
 Experiences a change in attendance or seems afraid of going to
school, walking to and from school, riding the bus, going to the
school bathrooms, or taking part in organized activities with peers

16.  Seems tired, has trouble sleeping or frequent bad dreams
 Experiences a loss of appetite
 Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem
 Has torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or
other belongings
 Has unexplained cuts, bruises, or scratches
 Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she spends time
 Takes a long, “illogical” route when walking to or from school

17.  All staff members must take immediate action when bullying is
observed
 Receive and listen receptively to students and parents that report
bullying
 Report incidents AND reports of bullying to administrators
 Encourage reporting and provide anonymity if needed or requested
 Work with administrators so reports are investigated and resolved
quickly and effectively at the school level to avoid perpetuating bullying
 Recognize the repeated and recurring nature of bullying and have
mechanisms in place to identify patterns of repeated offenses
What should you do as an MISD employee?

18.  Work with administrators to notify parents of all involved students when a bullying
incident occurs and seek to resolve the problem expeditiously at school
 Provide ongoing guidance that supports appropriate student expectations for behavior
including the role of the bystander
 Integrate bullying prevention themes throughout the curriculum
 Provide anti-bullying / bullying prevention activities at each level
 Provide parent education
 Provide follow up support to victims
 Participate in the development of action plans for students that have been bullied
 Provide outside resources to parents if warranted for students who are bullied and with
students who bully
Students need to know that mistreatment of others
will not be allowed

19. Set Campus and Classroom Rules
and Expectations such as:
 We will not bully others
 We will try to help students who are bullied
 We will make it a point to include students who are easily left out
 If we know someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school
and an adult at home
Develop strategies to reward students for positive, inclusive behavior
•Make it uncool to bully
•Make it cool to help out students who are
bullied
•The campus norm is for staff and students
to notice when a child is bullied or left out

20. BYSTANDERS contribute to the
problem!
Set EXPECTATIONS FOR BYSTANDERS such as:
 Don’t watch – Walk away
 Don’t react with laughter, giggles, or snickers
 Be a friend to the victim
 Reporting incidents is safe and the right thing to
do

21.  Protect Yourself
 Investigate
 Report to administration observed incidents,
concerns, and parent and/or student reports
 Document - Have a paper trail of action
 You can be held responsible if you know, or
“should have known”, about bullying incidents
and did not report and investigate
Protect the Students AND …

22. All employees have a responsibility to
maintain a
Climate of
Kindness and Respect
For ALL