DISD Board Tackles Bullying With New Plan

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - School bullying was a topic of conversation at Thursday's Dallas ISD board meeting.

The school board unanimously approved revised draft of the district's 'Freedom From Bullying' proposal.

Supporters of the proposal say the revised version has more teeth to it.  "And ultimately that means all of our children have safety and a network of people who care about them and understand how to protect them," says Cece Cox, the executive director of the Resource Center of Dallas.  Cox and leaders in the gay community say original proposal was weak.

Click the link to read the full revised draft of Freedom From Bullying.

The original draft written about a month ago was just two pages, the new version that was approved Thursday night is 8 pages and has far more specific language.

The new policy defines bullying in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic background and mental or physical disabilities.

It spells out bullying in terms of verbal and physical abuse, as well as psychological in the forms of threats or ostracism.  It even defines electronic bullying through emails, text messaged and blogs.

Suzie Fagg with DISD Student Services says the new policy is close to zero tolerance.  "It is as close as possible to zero tolerance not only for direct bullying, but for the indirect bullying or the bystander. There's no tolerance for the bystander."

Thursday night, 17-year-old William Movant stood before the school board and told about how he is haunted by memories of the past.  "I attempted suicide two times, and had planned a third time."  He told this to the district with hopes of changing the future.  "And I'm here to speak today, because if this policy was intact, I believe I would have a had a better experience in school."

Movant told stories of abuse and ridicule he suffered while in middle school.  ""I came out in 7th grade at Dealey Montessori. I was so harassed that I tried to go back into the closet. I was called foul names everyday."

Supporters of the new plan like Omar Narvaez say it's important to specifically identify these characteristics to ensure the policy is clear.

"You know, the number one reason for bullied in school is because you're different. You can't help being different. Things like sexual orientation and gender identity and expression are just as important. This is something that kids just can't hide. They should be allowed to be who they are and get a good education in DISD."'

DISD Trustee Lew Blackburn is pleased with the new measures, saying school hallways should be a sanctuary.  "School should be one of the places we call a safe haven."

Supporters say the plan is the first of its kind in the state to clearly identify race, religion, gender and sexual orientation as part of the policy language.

The new policy states that almost all investigations into bullying must wrap within 10 days.

Under the new plan, which takes effect immediately, anyone caught bullying could face punishments from a reprimand to suspension, and even expulsion depending on the severity.