Feds Warn Schools to Get Tougher on Bullying and Civil Rights Violations

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In a rare move, the Department of Education is sending out a 10-page letter today to thousands of school districts, colleges and universities, to make sure they are complying with federal rules to prevent bullying and harassment. They warn that some types of bullying may actually be discriminatory  harassment under the Civil Rights Act. The letter clarifies when student bullying may violate federal education anti-discrimination laws. It explains educator’s legal obligations to protect students from the following kinds of harassment and bullying. Racial and national orientation
Sexual and gender-based
Disability

The letter provides examples of harassment and explains how schools should respond to each case.

Longer Classes Improve Literacy

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Longer classes in reading and writing could help students get promoted to the next grade according to a 2010 report from the Public Policy Institute of California. The Blueprint for Student Success was a literacy program that ran for five years to determine what works in reading reform in the San Diego Unified School District. According to the report, the program helped mostly elementary and middle school children. However, the program did not show any results either positive or negative in regards to completing high school college prep work. The study recommends that the Department of Education ease its Title I requirements so school districts could use the money for reforms that target both low-incoming students as well as low performing students regardless of school or neighborhood.

DJJ School System Loses Out On Some Federal Money, But Is Preparing For Dual Accreditation

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By Chandra R. Thomas

Department of Juvenile Justice School System leaders are recovering from a major disappointment, but also celebrating other victories while working toward maintaining the system’s academic standing. First the bad news: The school system did not get any of the Race To The Top grant money received by 26 other school systems in the state. Last month Governor Sonny Perdue announced that Georgia was selected as a winner by the U.S. Department of Education for the second round of the grants. Georgia is projected to receive $400 million over four years to implement its plan to create conditions for education innovation and reform. The fund is a $4 billion grant opportunity provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to support new approaches to improve schools.

The Plague of Bullying

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The U.S. Department of Education held the first summit on school bullying this week. It comes in the wake of several high profile suicides linked to bullying, including two children in Georgia.   Education Secretary Arne Duncan called bullying in schools across the country “a plague.”   The Christian Science Monitor provides these alarming statistics:

Nearly 1 out of 3 students in middle and high school said they had been bullied in 2007. 1 out of 9 high schoolers – 2.8 million students – said they had been pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on during the last school year. 900,000 high schoolers reported being cyberbullied in 2007.