Published: December 15, 2008 11:04 am      

WEB EXTRA: Bullying policy comes to a vote Tuesday

The Suwannee County School Board is expected to formally adopt a new policy on bullying Tuesday at the board’s regular meeting. The school board crafted the policy over the previous few weeks in response to a new state law requiring all Florida school districts devise an anti-bullying policy by Dec. 1.

Suwannee County's new policy, if approved, will be similar to the state’s model policy. The Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act is named after a Cape Coral student who committed suicide in 2005 after becoming a victim of bullying.

Suwannee County’s current policy on bullying, threats and intimidation stated that "The School Board...will not tolerate bullying, threats, or intimidation by any student. Any act of coercion, bullying, or making a person fearful of being harmed or any declaration of intent through words or acts to do bodily harm to another person or to destroy, damage, or steal his/her property will be considered a violation of the Code of Student Conduct and this policy." The policy also stated that any student who violated the policy would be subject to disciplinary action.

The new policy is more comprehensive and addresses everything from teasing and social exclusion to cyber bullying.

"The Suwannee County School Board is committed to protecting its students from bullying, harassment, or discrimination for any reason and of any type," Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Bill Yanossy said in a recent interview. "All students are entitled to a safe, equitable and harassment-free school experience. These types of behaviors will not be tolerated and shall be just cause for disciplinary action."

Suwannee High Principal Dawn Lamb said SHS is aggressive when it comes to bullying.

"We have had an anti-bullying policy for years and we deal rather aggressively with bullying behavior," she said.

Lamb said the new rules will give administrators more "teeth in assisting students who are feeling bullied from internet sites, Web pages, social pages (such as MySpace), etc.," Lamb said.

Yanossy said that the school district reviewed several anti-bullying "models" from other districts and agencies, but decided to stick to the Florida Department of Education Model Policy Against Bullying and Harassment sent to each district earlier this year.

The school board will vote on the policy at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at the district office. The public is invited to attend.