Sewanhaka Central High School District Adopts New Policy on Harassment

The Sewanhaka Central High School District adopted a new board policy on harassment, hazing and bullying at its Board of Education meeting on April 27. The board said it was committed to providing an environment that promotes respect and equality among its students.

Furthermore, the board stated that any type of bullying will not be tolerated in the district. But in terms of the new policy, it singles out the terms mentioned in physical, but also written, verbal and in electronic form. The board stressed that if any student has fallen victim to such a threat, to tell their parents and contact the district immediately.

According to the district’s agenda of the evening, it says that “if after appropriate investigation, the district finds that a student, an employee or a third party has violated this policy, prompt corrective action will be taken in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreement, district policy and state law.”

The board concluded that this policy extends toward communication that threatens another on the basis, “race, color, national origin, creed, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, class or club affiliation or other distinguishing characteristic.”

Trustee David Del Santo stressed at the meeting that the board needs to put this policy on the fast track as soon as possible to avoid harmful incidents. He feels that it’s a step in the right direction.

“I think that it’s imperative that this school board takes the harassing, hazing and bullying policy and fast track it and makes sure it gets wide dissemination and gives direction to the schools in the district,” he said. Del Santo went on to say that this policy will not only show if they’re doing their job right, but that it will give not only students the idea of the right course of action, but the administrators as well. “This new board policy, I think, will go a long way in giving direction to our administrators on how to proceed when an instance like this occurs,” he said.