Level III Bullying and cyberbullying (D0701): Bullying is any inten onal* wri en, electronic, verbal, or physical act or ac ons against a student, school volunteer, or school employee that a reasonable person, under the circumstances should know will have the effect of: • • • •
placing a student, school volunteer, or school employee in reasonable fear of substan al harm to his or her emo onal or physical well-being or substan al damage to his or her property; or crea ng a hos le, threatening, humilia ng, or abusive educa onal environment due to the pervasiveness or persistence of ac ons or due to a power differen al between the bully and the target; or interfering with a student having a safe school environment that is necessary to facilitate teaching and learning, opportuni es or benefits; or perpetua ng bullying by inci ng, solici ng or coercing an individual or group to demean, dehumanize, embarrass or cause emo onal, psychological or physical harm to another student, school volunteer or school employee.
Cyberbullying means the inten onal use of uninvited and unwelcome electronic communica on directed at an iden fiable student or group of students, through means other than face-to-face interac on that: • • •
interferes with a student’s physical well-being; or is threatening or in mida ng; or is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it is reasonably likely to limit a student’s ability to par cipate in or benefit from the educa onal programs of the school district or school.
Communica on shall be directed at an iden fiable student or group of students if it is sent directly to that student or group or posted in a medium that the speaker knows is likely to be available to a broad audience within the school community. • •
Whether speech cons tutes cyberbullying will be determined from the standpoint of a reasonable student of the same grade and other circumstances as the vic m. The place of origin of speech otherwise cons tu ng cyberbullying is not material to whether it is considered cyberbullying under this policy, nor is the use of school or district materials.
The Student Code of Conduct will be enforced for any verified act of bullying, as defined above, commi ed out of school against a Brandywine School District student if the building administrator determines that the act of bullying interferes with the educa onal rights of another student and/or causes a substan al or material disrup on of the school environment. *An act is considered inten onal when the actual outcome is the same as the intended outcome. Bullying and cyberbullying: con nued on next page
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