School approves new bullying policy, change orders at schools

While harassment has always been against the rules in Vestavia Hills City Schools, the policy was expanded at the Oct. 28 board meeting to change the word “harassment” to “bullying,” and to include cyberbullying.

The change was made in accordance with the newly passed Jamari Terrell Williams Student Bullying Act, which was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey in May 2018. The law is named after Williams, a 10-year-old Montgomery student who committed suicide after he was bullied.

The school’s policy against bullying is now expanded to include cyberbullying, which is bullying that takes place online, and possibly off the school campus. The policy states actions may be considered bullying even if it takes place off the school campus if it interferes with the “orderly operation of the school,” or creates a hostile environment for the victim.

Complaint forms will be available for students who experience bullying, and school administrators will investigate the complaint if they believe it to be a serious violation, according to the policy. 

Other policies passed include the amended attendance policy, which specifies what counts as an excused absence and changes the deadline for when documentation supporting an excused absence is due from “in a timely manner” to three days upon the student’s return to school.

Another recently passed law, Annalyn’s Law, requires that schools monitor low-risk juvenile sex offenders when they return to school. The board passed a policy dictating how school administrators will do that, including developing a supervision plan, mitigating the chance that the student interacts with the victim if they attend the same school, treating the student with respect and ensuring confidentiality of the student’s status.

A policy revising how VHCS conducts student searches was tabled by Superintendent Todd Freeman.

The board also approved change orders for an increase in construction cost at the old Berry High School campus, the future home of Pizitz Middle School. The change order was an increase of about $23,000 for improvements to the campus, with that figure determined after a $14,000 credit was added.

The contract with Hoar Program Management, who is helping with the work at the Berry campus, was amended to add more hours so HPM can finish the job, but there was no increased cost with the amendment, Freeman said.

A change order increasing the cost of work done at the new Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge by about $3,000 was passed, with that figure finalized after a $6,500 credit was added for work that was deemed not necessary. The work to be done includes creating a buffer at the stairway entrance to the school, Assistant Superintendent Patrick Martin said.

A $50,000 credit was also approved for the Dolly Ridge campus, as there was some unused money given back to the school board.

In other business, the board:

• Appointed Jaclyn Hudson as the delegate to the Alabama Association of School Boards.
• Approved various consent and personnel items, as well as the financial statement.