LITTLE ROCK, AR - Bullying has been in issue that has pushed the Little Rock School District into the spotlight. For months parents have complained that schools have not done enough to address the problem. On January 16 they announced their plans to eliminate the problem once and for all.
"What we've come up with is something that the community can be proud of," said Dr. Sadie Mitchell, superintendent of Elementary Schools in the Little Rock School District.
It's been months of complaints about bullying from parents and listening from the school district to reach this moment.
"The genuine concern in the community that perhaps the district might not have been doing as much as they should or could have with efforts for the anti-bullying," said Mitchell.
It all led to the district's announcement of the final plan to combat bullying in their schools. It's a curriculum called Bully-Proofing Your School. The district says it's using all mediums to get the message out.
"The district has a policy on bullying and we intend to fully enforce that policy when we are made aware of it at any time and all times," said Dr. Morris Holmes, Superintendent for the district.
The curriculum is an expanded version of a previous bullying policy, but the district plans on being more aggressive in addressing the problem.
"It doesn't do any good to just send a child home and suspend a child and just bring them back without interventions," said Frederick Fields, Senior Director of Student Services. "There could be some type of, again, retaliation and we want to make sure we do everything we can to eradicate that," said Fields.
Procedures of the LRSD Anti-Bullying Policy include:
• Any student who is a victim of bullying or who witnesses or has reliable information that a student ...