Combating Bullying: How New Hampshire Is Paving The Way For Our Students To Succeed

Previously published in the Portsmouth Herald, May 2011

In the wake of the sentences delivered to Massachusetts teenagers associated with the Phoebe Prince suicide investigation, attention has returned to bullying in schools and cyberbullying out of schools. In New Hampshire, we have an aggressive law that has developed over the last decade. New Hampshire passed the "Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention Act" in 2000. It was amended in 2004 and again in 2010. Bullying Police USA, a watchdog organization, has given the law an A++ in response to last year's amendment.

One of the big reasons why Bullying Police USA gave New Hampshire such high marks for its anti-bullying law was the fact that it addresses cyberbullying – bullying or harassment that occurs online via Facebook, instant messages, email, webpages, and other internet-based communications. The statute grants schools the authority and responsibility to respond to bullying that occurs out of school, like cyberbullying and text messaging, when it "interferes with a pupil's educational opportunities or substantially disrupts the orderly operations of the school or school-sponsored activity or event."

Under the current law, public school boards had until January 1st of this year to adopt policies that prohibit bullying. Following policy adoption, districts must train their teachers and establish reporting procedures for identified incidents of bullying. New Hampshire's law defines bullying as a single significant incident or a pattern of incidents involving written, verbal, or electronic communication, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another pupil which either (1) physically harms a pupil or damages the pupil's property, (2) causes emotional distress to a pupil, (3) interferes with a pupil's educational opportunities, (4) creates a hostile educational environment, or (5) substantially disrupts the orderly operation of the school.

What this means is that schools are responsible for providing a safe, secure and respectful learning environment for all students, not just in school buildings, but also online, when kids are susceptible to cyberbullying. This was a new requirement added to the law by the 2010 amendment. Prior to this specific obligation, school officials were uncertain as to the extent of their responsibility to respond to bullying off school grounds. It effectively requires schools to police student-to-student harassment and abuse committed...