Safety is one of our district’s top priorities and to help safeguard our school community, we’ve taken an important step that I want to share with you.
Our district is now using SafeSchools Alert, a tip reporting service that allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration four different ways:
- Phone: 855.977.0973
- Text: Text your tip to 855.977.0973
- Email: 1449@alert1.us
- Web: http://1449.alert1.us
You and your child can easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism or any safety issue you’re concerned about through SafeSchools Alert.
Every tip SafeSchools Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may also be submitted anonymously if you prefer.
La seguridad es una de las prioridades más importantes en nuestro distrito y para ayudar a proteger a nuestra comunidad estudiantil, dimos un importante paso que queremos compartir con usted.
Nuestro distrito está ahora usando una alerta de SafeSchools, un servicio para reportar avisos, el cual permite presentar precauciones de seguridad concernientes a nuestra administración a los estudiantes, a los padres y al personal, de cuatro maneras diferentes:
- Teléfono: 855.977.0973
- Mensajes de Texto: Text tu consejo para 855.977.0973
- Correo electrónico: 1449@alert1.us
- Página web: http://1449.alert1.us
Cada aviso que la Alerta de SafeSchools recibe sobre nuestro distrito se registra inmediatamente en el sistema y nuestra administración es informada, de manera que se pueda investigar y tomar la acción apropiada. Los avisos también pueden ser presentados de manera anónima si usted lo prefiere.
Juntos, usando las Alertas de SafeSchools, podremos hacer de nuestro distrito un lugar seguro para trabajar y aprender!. De antemano gracias por su apoyo.
School Safety Information and Resources: http://www.k12.wa.us/SafetyCenter/default.aspx
Meridian School District has bullying curriculums and programs at all the schools. Please contact the school counselor or principal for more information
RCW 28A.300.285 defines harassment, intimidation and bullying as any intentionally written message or image—including those that are electronically transmitted—verbal, or physical act, including but not limited to one shown to be motivated by race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, including gender expression or identity, mental or physical disability or other distinguishing characteristics, when an act:
- Physically harms a student or damages the student’s property.
- Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s education.
- Is so severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment.
- Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.
Schools are required to take action if students report they are being Harrassed, Intimidated, or Bullied. Since August 2011, each school district has been required to adopt the model Washington anti-bullying policy and procedure. The Meridian School District Policy is #3207. Report andy bullying to the school principal.
Report any incident of Bullying to your school principal.
District Compliance Officer – Kurt Harvill.
Additonal resources on promoting positive school climates
Resources to assist school officials, educators, students, families, and communities in promoting more positive school climates include:
- The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments,safesupportivelearning.ed.gov, offers tools, training, and technical assistance to schools, institutions of higher education, families, and communities to contend with many factors that affect the conditions for learning and impede the building and maintenance of safe and supportive learning environments, such as bullying, harassment, and violence;
- StopBullying.gov, www.stopbullying.gov, serves as a clearinghouse for all Federal anti-bullying resources and information about State laws and model policies to stop bullying and protect children; and
- The Department of Education has collected resources for immigrants, refugees, asylees, and other new Americans at www.ed.gov/about/overview/
focus/immigration-resources. html.
Additional resources about bullying and harassment of students on the basis of race, religion, and national origin include:
- U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, Twenty Plus Things Schools Can Do to Respond to or Prevent Hate Incidents Against Arab-Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs, www.justice.gov/crs/pubs/20-
plus-things.pdf; - U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Checklist for a Comprehensive Approach to Addressing Harassment, www.ed.gov/ocr/checklist.html;
- New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, Anti-Bullying Instructional Resources,otda.ny.gov/programs/bria/
documents/WtOS-Anti-Bullying- Resource.pdf; and - U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, Programs for Managing School Multicultural Conflict, www.justice.gov/crs/pubs/
school-multicultural-conflict. pdf.
Federal resources describing students’ rights and schools’ obligations under Federal laws addressing bullying and harassment on the basis of race, religion, and national origin include:
- U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying (Oct. 26, 2010), www.ed.gov/ocr/letters/
colleague-201010.pdf; - U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Dear Colleague Letter: First Amendment (July 28, 2003), www.ed.gov/ocr/firstamend.html
; - U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Investigative Guidance: Racial Incidents and Harassment Against Students at Educational Institutions (Mar. 10, 1994), www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/race394.
html; - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination (Aug. 2010), www.justice.gov/crt/
publications/natorigin2.pdf; - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Protecting the Religious Freedom of All: Federal Laws Against Religious Discrimination (Aug. 2015),www.justice.gov/crt/combating-
religious-discrimination-and- protecting-religious-freedom- 10; and - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Harassment Fact Sheet,www.justice.gov/crt/about/edu/
documents/eosaapimassa.pdf.
Some of the resources above are available in other languages:
- U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights offers many of its resources in other languages at www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/howto-
index.html; - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination (Aug. 2010) is available in several languages athttp://www.justice.gov/crt/
publications; - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Harassment Fact Sheet is available in Punjabi at www.justice.gov/crt/about/edu/
documents/eosaapimassapunjabi. pdf; and - The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and its partners have translated basic information from StopBullying.gov into several AAPI languages at https://acttochange.org/#
resources.