An Orange County school board tonight is expected to give final approval to a policy that would punish campus bullying as harshly as bringing a knife or a bottle of vodka to school--a policy which might be the first of its kind in the country.
The rule would add bullying to the list of offenses covered under the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's zero-tolerance policy. Students caught bullying could be transferred to other district campuses and referred to counseling.
Parents began clamoring for the policy last spring, after a student choked another boy at Corona del Mar High School, sending the boy to the hospital.
Last week's school shooting in San Diego County only emphasizes the need for anti-bullying policies, district officials said. Although the exact motive of the shooting is unclear, the student alleged to be the gunman, Charles "Andy" Williams, had been relentlessly bullied by his peers about his appearance.
In the 21,000-student Newport-Mesa district, the new anti-bullying policy will cover verbal abuse as well as physical abuse.
"It's a protection for youngsters," said school board member Serene Stokes, who represents the Corona del Mar area. "We felt this was something that was long overdue, and we've got to break the code of silence."
The new policy says that schools will not tolerate "any gestures, comments, threats or actions . . . which cause or threaten to cause . . . bodily harm of personal degradation."
Referring to another student as "a fag," for example, would be personal degradation, said Jaime Castellanos, the district's head of secondary education. On the other hand, telling a fellow student that you did not approve of his or her homosexuality would be allowed.
Stokes said the new policy will encourage students to come forward and report incidents. Even the choking incident went unreported until parents found out about it.
"A student was strangled for a homework pass," said parent Cyndy Borcoman. "My son witnessed it, and did nothing."
Borcoman said her son and a group of other boys watched in silent terror as one of their classmates put his hands around another boy's neck and squeezed until the boy lost consciousness.
Once her son finally told her, Borcoman urged him to tell the principal, as did several other parents of students who witnessed the incident.
"I was horrified," Borcoman said. "And I was horrified that my son would see something and not say anything. He was scared."
