KO Revised Bullying Policy Includes 'Cyber Bullying'

In a cyber age where technology seems to change every season, even simple school policies are playing catch-up.

On Thursday, the Keystone Oaks School Board revised the district's anti-bullying policy to include cyber bullying.

Whereas the policy formerly defined bullying mainly as a physical or verbal act, it now defines bullying as "an intentional and unwelcome electronic (cyber), written, verbal, or physical act, or a series of acts," that has several specified characteristics.

Superintendent William Stropkaj said that under the revised policy, the school can investigate bullying cases that occur both inside and outside of a school setting, in particular, if the bullying is interfering with a student's education or creating a threatening environment.

"We're going through all our policies, as we do from time to time, to make sure they are up to date and appropriate. Cyber bullying is something you have to be very careful about," said school board President Gary Alward. "You have to be careful with social media. That's a very new thing, and the use of it is growing all the time."

The text of the revised anti-bullying policy can be found in the agenda packet for the Nov. 15 meeting, which is attached to this article as a PDF document.

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