Youth Services Litigation Blog : Georgia Youth-Serving Organization Lawyer & Attorney : Debbie Ausburn Law Firm : Youth Camps, Day Care, Social Services

The Department of Justice has issued a report about bullying in schools.  It is part of the COPS series, so is geared toward school resource officers, but has some good information for administrators as well.  Some of the research that it cites suggests that a principal's involvement in addressing the problem contributes to fewer incidents. It also recommends such common-sense strategies as increasing supervision in "hot spot" areas, and perhaps even redesigning the environment.

I disagree with one strategy, which is "developing a comprehensive reporting system to track bullying and the interventions used with specific bullies and victims."  It is a good idea in theory, but, if not done effectively, will just provide ammunition for an opposing attorney in a lawsuit.  Like any school policy, do not create the policy unless you are going to follow and enforce it.  The only thing worse than no policy is a well-written policy that no one follows.

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At the Child Safety Blog, I found a fascinating article in the Chicago Tribune about the difficulties that diabetic students face in schools.  It seems that best medical practice, which encourages students to monitor their blood sugar frequently and respond quickly to the readings, is at odds with school protocol requiring that nurses supervise those activities.  Problems arise when nurses are not available, or when students need to act quickly.

In my experience, the troublesome school policies are driven by (1) rigid adherence to no-tolerance drug policies, and (2) fear of litigation if anyone other than a nurse handles medical issues.  I supposes it is fitting, then, that it sometimes takes the threat of litigation to get schools to adopt common sense protocols for diabetic students.

The Internet has quite a few resource for parents and schools dealing with this issue:

•  The National Diabetes Education Program, a joint project of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has an excellent publication for school personnel, as well as a wealth of information.  
• The American Diabetes Association website has a page about "Legal Rights of Students with Diabetes."  
• Two helpful websites are Pediatric Education for Diabetes in Schools and Children with Diabetes.  The latter site has some sample IEPs for diabetic students.  
• Finally, the State of Washington convened a task force that published helpful guidelines, as has New Jersey, and the Seattle school system has put its policies online.

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