http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20140820/OPINION/140819669

The story linked above provoked me to comment on a bullying complaint policy recently adopted by a school district in my state currently being investigated by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for racial/ethnic harassment, discrimination and retaliation, all or some of which fall under the umbrella term “bullying.” Bear in mind that under Title VI of the Civil a Rights Act, a complaint can be made to OCR within ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) DAYS of the incident.

In agreement with the article linked above, every study I have seen has found that students are reluctant and often wait long periods of time to tell their parents they have been bullied. Despite Federal guidance to the contrary, a local school district (with a well-deserved reputation for allowing bullying to continue unabated) has adopted a new policy requiring students to prepare and submit to the SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT a written complaint describing the bullying they have suffered WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS of the incident OR FORFEIT THEIR RIGHT TO REDRESS. This policy doesn’t even pass the straight face test. It is a policy clearly designed to repel any attempts to investigate bullying allegations, given the short time period allowed to report an incident and by including an intimidation factor–requiring a bullied victim to report his complaint to the highest  ranking official in the school system.