Senate Bill 2015, signed into law in 2010, prohibits bullying or harassing behavior in Mississippi public schools.
The bill requires all local school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting bullying and harassing behavior.
A school employee who has witnessed or has reliable information that a student or school employee has been subject to any act of bullying or harassing behavior shall report the incident to the appropriate school official.
When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.
Parents, school staff, and other adults in the community can help kids prevent bullying by talking about it, building a safe school environment, and creating a community-wide bullying prevention strategy.
Mississippi’s law says school districts shall include in its personnel policies, discipline policies and code of student conduct a prohibition against bullying or harassing behavior and adopt procedures for reporting, investigating and addressing such behavior.
The policies must recognize the fundamental right of every student to take reasonable actions as may be necessary to defend himself or herself from an attack by another student who has evidenced menacing or threatening behavior through bullying or harassing.
Administrators have five calendar days to investigate the alleged incident and file a report.
Any parent who who feels their child has been bullied can call 601-359-1737 for assistance and policy and procedure for reporting and stopping the bullying of a student.
The Bully Free Program was highlighted in state-wide training provided by the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools in partnership with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. Visit https://www.stopbullying.gov/to learn more about ways to prevent bullying.
Did you know?
Nearly 35,000 of Mississippi’s children and youth have severe and persistent mental health needs.
A significant relationship exists between adverse childhood experiences and risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span.
Environmental factors such as parental unemployment, severe deprivation due to poverty, single parenthood, regular exposure to domestic violence or abuse and bullying puts children at higher risk for the development of mental health problems, creating a ripple effect that can lead to suicide.
Your school counselor can help you with these concerns.
