MPS offers revisions to bullying policy after 2nd grader’s case taken up by Office for Civil Rights
Days after the Office for Civil Rights demanded an answer from Milwaukee Public Schools about how MPS responded to allegations of a 2nd grader being bullied
By Michele Fiore
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WDJT) — Days after the Office for Civil Rights demanded an answer from Milwaukee Public Schools about how MPS responded to allegations of a 2nd grader being bullied, MPS has offered up revisions to its bullying policy. Board members met in committee, discussing a change in language to the policy that’s already on the books. But does it go far enough? Parents here say no.
“I brought to your attention a bullying complaint. You did nothing. You didn’t follow the statutes,” said Ben Hitchcock Cross, who spoke during public comment.
Families are fed up, saying the changes to the MPS bullying policy don’t go far enough. The revised language now includes a section for bullying between students and staff.
“The fact that the language, that those words have to be added just for it to be upheld, is pathetic,” said Amanda, parent.
“Initially, we want to make sure that the parents are notified of any incidents by the end of that day, and then an investigation would begin immediately following that,” explained Kim Morath, MPS supervisor of the violence prevention program.
Parents say what’s also questionable is that “employees found to have participated in bullying behavior may be subject to disciplinary action.”
“And may be subject to discipline. Maybe? If you proceed to sit here and say your ‘ayes’ and approve this without changing that language, you failed again, just like you failed my son,” said Amanda.
The feds have an open case, investigating what happened to Amanda’s 2nd grade son at Fairview Elementary last year. She says he was told to go kill himself.
Bullying of this magnitude is what community activist Tracey Dent says led him to sit on a parents committee three years ago, when a bullied 18-year-old MPS student took his own life.
“We trying to say I have confidence in you that my child’s gonna be safe at this school, and you’re not doing it, that’s a problem,” said Dent.
That parent group in 2019 spent months putting together an anti-bullying policy that was adopted by MPS.
“And the policies and procedures that we placed in 2019 is not being followed,” said Dent.
The committee unanimously agreed to send the revisions to the bullying policy on to the full board, which can then further change the language, or not.
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