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Ohio House Bill 276, effective Mar. 30, 2007, mandated that local boards of public schools (including city, local, exempted village, joint vocational districts and community schools) adopt policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying by Dec. 30, 2007.
The Ohio Department of Education, in consultation with other state agencies and education organizations, prepared a model policy to guide districts in putting new legal requirements into practice. The State Board of Education approved this model policy in July 2007.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- Model Anti-Harassment, Anti-Intimidation and Anti-Bullying Policy (PDF) (Word)
- Ohio Revised Code (ORC), Sections 3313.666 and 3313.667
- Anti-bullying Policies: Promoting a Positive School Climate (PowerPoint) - This presentation inlcudes all required policy elements as well as suggested implementation procedures. Educators may use and adapt the slides and the script in the "notes" view of this document for presentations describing local policies.
- Fact Sheet for School Personnel (PDF) - The fact sheet presents the responsibilities of schools districts for local policies, general guidelines for educators and links to useful resources.
- Fact Sheet for Parents of Teens (PDF) - Featured here are guidelines for parents of bullied teens; information to help prevent and understand bullying; and additional resources on bullying.
- Training and Presentations - ODE also provides free presentations on the model policy through the Office for Safety, Health and Nutrition. Call (877) 44-6338 (toll-free) or (614) 644-8863 for information. To schedule a workshops for parents titled the Parent Academy: Conditions for Learning, which also addresses bullying, click here.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE MODEL POLICY
The model policy contains procedures for responding to, investigating, reporting and documenting incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying (including cyber bullying) as fully explained in the documents above. Responsibilities for school personnel are delineated and student intervention strategies are presented. The model policy also states the additional new requirements for districts to:
- Consult with students, parents, school employees, volunteers and community members in developing policies and programs;
- Publish policies in student handbooks and employee training materials;
- Locally report on a semiannual basis a summary of reported incidents; and
- Provide training on local policies to the extent that state or federal funds are appropriated for these purposes.
RELATED RESOURCES ON THIS WEB SITE
Bullying Prevention Resources – The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) offers a variety of bullying-prevention resources including Web links, printed materials, a telephone hotline, and training programs.
Ohio School Climate Guidelines – a set of guidelines and a brief fact sheet summarizing how schools and communities can work together in creating positive learning environments.
Safe School Summit – read about recommendations for improving state policy on topics related to phyiscial and psychological safety; out-of-school interventions; and school-community partnerships. Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention Policy – This State Board of Education policy calls for building the capacity of school districts to create safe, caring learning environments in which students have access to practices and programs that prevent them from engaging in alcohol and other drug use, violence and other self-destructive behaviors and including suicide.
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