Klein ISD takes bullying seriously. We want you to know that we are committed to providing our children with a safe environment in which they may grow and learn.
Klein ISD’s bullying policy, taken directly from the elementary, intermediate, and high school handbooks, is as follows: “Bullying will not be tolerated. For purposes of this handbook, bullying is defined as hitting, kicking, teasing, threatening, taunting, assaulting, or any other form of written, verbal, physical or electronic (cyberbullying) harassment toward another student. Should students feel as though they are victims of bullying or believe that other students have experienced bullying, it is imperative that a teacher, counselor, or administrator be notified immediately. All complaints will be promptly investigated and if bullying is substantiated, immediate corrective action will be taken.”
To prevent bullying behavior, it is important that we all understand what bullying is, and is not, and what we can do to prevent it. Bullying is not “just teasing” or as a normal part of growing up. Bullying is harmful and can lead children and teenagers to feel threatened, intimidated, or afraid. Children or adolescents who bully use power to control or dominate others and have often been the victims of physical abuse or bullying themselves.
Bullying is defined by state law in Texas Education Code Section 37.0832 as a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or verbal expression through electronic means, or physical conduct and:
- has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or of damage to the student’s property, or;
- is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student, or;
- materially and substantially disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a classroom or school, or;
- infringes on the rights of the victim at school; and
- includes cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is also defined in Texas Education Code Section 37.0832 and means bullying that is done through the use of any electronic communication device, including through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a computer, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, a social media application, an Internet website, or any other Internet-based communication tool.