Subject: fyi: settlement reached, suicide research, bullying prevention strategies & laws
From: Reis, Beth <Beth.Reis@kingcounty.gov>
Date: 3/6/2012 1:40 PM
To: IMPORTANTNEWS@safeschoolscoalition.org

Dear Safe Schools Coalition Members and Friends:

 

REMINDER, HELP STILL NEEDED: If you are able to donate one to four hours a week to the Safe Schools Coalition (in your pajamas or drinking a maitai) we still need someone to send job/internship digests weekly or every two weeks. You could live anywhere in the world with Internet access. We will train you. If you are a student, we can consider it service learning. Contact Michelle: michelle@safeschoolscoalition.org

 

(1) News from the US Department of Justice: Settlement reached with Anoka-Hennepin (MN) School District

(2) Research study finds youth who attempt suicide may do so at a very young age

(3) New resources from Harvard, in conjuction with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation

 

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(1) News from the US Department of Justice: Settlement reached with Anoka-Hennepin (MN) School District

 

There has been a settlement reached in the federal case against the Anoka-Hennepin (MN) school district on behalf of six students harassed

because they didn’t dress or act in ways that conform to gender stereotypes.

Once entered by the court, the consent decree will ensure that the district:

- Retains an expert consultant in the area of sex-based harassment to review the district’s policies and procedures concerning harassment;

- Develops and implements a comprehensive plan for preventing and addressing student-on-student sex-based harassment at the middle and high schools;

- Enhances and improves its training of faculty, staff and students on sex-based harassment;

- Hires or appoints a Title IX coordinator to ensure proper implementation of the district’s sex-based harassment policies and procedures and district compliance with Title IX;

- Retains an expert consultant in the area of mental health to address the needs of students who are victims of harassment;

- Provides for other opportunities for student involvement and input into the district’s ongoing anti-harassment efforts;

- Improves its system for maintaining records of investigations and responding to allegations of harassment;

- Conducts ongoing monitoring and evaluations of its anti-harassment efforts; and

- Submits annual compliance reports to the departments.

Please see the DOJ's press release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/March/12-crt-286.html.

 

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(2) Research study finds youth who attempt suicide may do so at a very young age

 

Youth who attempt suicide may do so at very young ages, according to the results of a study by researcher James Mazza of the University of Washington. Mazza examined survey data on 883 18- and 19-year olds who had attempted suicide and found that almost 40 percent said their first suicide attempt had been made before high school. The earliest age was age 9, so that's either third or fourth grade. And there's a sharp increase at sixth grade, so that's age 12, said Mazza. They continue to rise, with the peak being eighth to ninth grade. The purpose of the study was to investigate the validity of retrospective measures of suicidal behavior. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.  For more information, visit: http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(11)00127-3/abstract

 

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(3) New resources from Harvard, in conjuction with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation

 

Lots of tools here: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/youthandmedia/bornthisway including, for example:

§  What You Must Know to Help Combat Youth Bullying, Meanness, and Cruelty by danah boyd and John Palfrey

§  An Overview of State Anti-Bullying Legislation and Other Related Laws by Dena Sacco, Katharine Silbaugh, Felipe Corredor, June Casey, and Davis Doherty

§  Bullying Prevention 101 for Schools: Dos and Don'ts by Susan Swearer, Mia Doces, Lisa Jones, and Anne Collier

§  Implementing Bullying Prevention Programs in Schools: A How-To Guide by Lisa Jones, Mia Doces, Susan Swearer, and Anne Collier

§  Changing the Culture: Ideas for Student Action by Anne Collier, Susan Swearer, Mia Doces, and Lisa Jones

 

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