Pub. 1 2011-2012 Issue 1

19 initiation or admission into, or affiliation with, or as a condition of membership or acceptance into a group. Examples of hazing include whipping or beating someone, the forced consumption of food or liquor, or other physical activity that endangers the health or safety of a student or school employee. TRAINING, PREVENTION, AND PUNISHMENT Under Utah’s anti-bullying law, the policy adopted by each school must include a definition of bullying consistent with the defini- tions provided under the statute. It must also include specific provisions prohibiting bullying, retaliation against those who report bullying, as well as a provision specifically prohibiting false reports of bullying. While the intention of the law is positive, a policy that simply complies with the lawmay be insufficient to address the underlying causes of bullying or to provide a process for early intervention and prevention. An effective prevention and intervention policy should provide clear, safe and confidential procedures for reporting bullying. Methods of enforcement should be clearly defined and easily understood by employees, students and parents. Intervention should incorporate remedial measures focused on correcting behavior. Consequences for acts of bullying should reflect the severity of the individual incident, and should include progressive consequences for repeat violations. An effective pre- vention and in- tervention policy will be backed up by training that teaches all school employ- ees how to rec- ognize bullying, and what steps, consistent with the school poli- cy, to take when bullying occurs. Training should also be provided to students and volunteers who participate in athletics and clubs, traditional homes for acts of hazing. Once trained, students, volunteers, and employees should be provided refresher training on a regularly occurring basis. This is particularly important in combating cyber-bulling as rapidly changing technology facili- tates new and invasive forms of bullying. THE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE OF A POLICY Adoption of an effective prevention and intervention policy may serve as an affirmative defense to any future lawsuit aris- ing from the acts of a bully. It is impossible to shield every child from every unpleasant experience. A school’s ability to identify a policy and its adherence to that policy is evidence of its reasonable efforts to protect students and employees by identifying, resolving, and preventing bullying. A policy, when well crafted, well defined, and consistently ad- hered to, will empower students, teachers and parents to work together to stop the bullies. It will also vest parents with the confidence that their children will be treated with fairness and re- spect, and will have the opportunity to learn in a safe and nurturing envi- ronment. ENDING A PROBLEM No student deserves harassment, bullying, or hazing. Is it pos- sible to stop this problem completely? Perhaps not, but we have a responsibility to our children to try. Even if the new law can prevent or stop this age-old problem in just a few cases, that will be a positive outcome for all students. Florence M. Vincent is a shareholder and a member of Van Cott’s Business Section and Labor & Employment Practice Group. Ms. Vincent’s practice focuses on employee/employer matters, which include assisting clients with designing and implementing employee benefit plans, resolving employee benefit compliance issues on an internal basis as well as with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor. Ms. Vincent also has experience working with school districts and governmental agencies in employment related matters. Labor & Employment Matters Employee Handbooks Policies ® Florence M. Vincent 801.532.3333 Labor & Employment Law Practice Group