Libby Elementary School (LES) believes that all students have a right to a safe and healthy school environment. Our district, school, and community have an obligation to promote mutual respect, tolerance, and acceptance. Bullying, harassment, intimidation, or hazing by students, staff, or third parties is strictly prohibited and shall not be tolerated (LPS Board Policy 3226-R).

Defining Bullying:

Bullying is negative, repeated behavior intended to hurt another person physically or emotionally. Bullying is one-sided and involves an imbalance of power (physical size, social status) between the aggressor and the target.

At Libby Elementary School, student conduct is considered bullying if it:

1. exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator and the student victim through:
   1. written/verbal expression (name-calling, teasing, abusing via words, etc.)
   2. emotional (spreading rumors, excluding others, etc.)
   3.  threats/intimidation through electronic means (cyber-bullying)
   4. physical contact (hitting, kicking, pushing, stealing/hiding/destroying others property, etc.)

2. is persistent, severe, and/or repeated and substantially interferes with a student’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of a school
3. occurs on school property, adjacent to school grounds, at any school-sponsored/school-related activity, at a school bus stop or on school-provided transportation.

• Bullying, in its most basic form, is abuse, harassment, and/or violence.
• Bullying is one-sided.
• Bullying is NOT part of normal conflict.
• Bullying is typically NOT a one-time occurrence.

Libby Elementary School will not tolerate behavior that infringes on the safety of any student. A student shall not intimidate, harass, or bully another student through words or actions. Such behavior includes direct physical contact (such as hitting or shoving), verbal assaults (such as severe teasing or name-calling), and social, emotional isolation or manipulation.

Reporting and Investigating Incidents of Bullying

Libby Elementary School expects students and/or staff to immediately report incidents of bullying to the campus administrators. Staff who witness such acts take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so. Each complaint of bullying will be promptly investigated.

Students are expected to immediately report incidents of bullying to a trusted adult. Teachers, staff, and school counselors will be responsible for notifying campus administration of reports made to them. Students can rely on the principal/assistant principal to promptly investigate each complaint of bullying in a thorough and confidential manner.

Discipline

Any student who is found to have engaged in bullying may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion. If the complainant student or parent of the student feels that appropriate resolution of the investigation or complaint has not been reached, the student or parent of the student should contact the campus principal. LPS prohibits retaliatory behavior against any complainant or any participant in the complaint process.

Promoting A Bully-Free Learning Environment

Libby Elementary School will provide staff development training in bullying prevention and cultivate acceptance and understanding in all students and staff to build our school’s capacity to maintain a safe, civil, and productive learning environment.

Campus administrators and teachers will review this policy with LES students in age-appropriate ways and should assure them that they need not endure any form of bullying. LES uses the research-based curriculum, Second Step, campus-wide that incorporates grade-appropriate lessons K-6 during morning meeting time and through our school counselors’ lessons.  All students learn how to Recognize (Recognizing bullying is the first step to get it to stop), Report (When you haven’t been able to get mean behaviors to stop, you should tell a trusted adult), and Refuse (You can refuse to let bullying happen to you or others) bullying. Students who bully are in violation of this policy and are subject to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion.

The procedures for promoting a bully-free learning environment and intervening in bullying behavior include, but are not limited, to the following:

• All staff, students, and their parents will receive a summary of this policy prohibiting intimidation and bullying: at the beginning of the school year, as part of the student handbook and/or information packet, as part of new student orientation, and it is available on the LES website.
• The school will make reasonable efforts to keep a report of bullying and the results of investigation confidential.
• Staff who witness acts of bullying shall take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so. People witnessing or experiencing bullying are strongly encouraged to report the incident; such reporting will not reflect on the target or witnesses in any way.
• LES provides multiple ways for students/parents to Report bullying complaints:
• Verbal report of suspected bullying to a trusted adult
• In writing by filling out Bullying/Intimidations Incident Reporting Form (available to all students/parents in the front office or electronically on the homepage of the LES website at libbyschools)
• email
• phone
• in-person message or meeting
• LES ROAR (respect, organization, attitude, responsibility) guidelines for success
• The ROAR Golden Ticket incentive program
• School Counselors to support students through classroom guidance, small group, and individually
• Campus-wide implementation of the Second Step lessons and Bullying Prevention Toolkit (Be safe, how to recognize bullying, how to report, how to refuse & how to be a bystander who helps)
• Campus-wide participation in Bullying Awareness month lessons/activities
• Campus-wide participation in Red Ribbon Week