Five Ways To Address Bullying When Preparing a Child’s IEP

By Markeisha Hall, MA, CATP

MY YOUNGEST WAS FINALLY GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL AFTER THE PANDEMIC. THE “BIG SCHOOL,” AS HE CALLS IT. GOING TO SCHOOL AFTER THE PANDEMIC WAS GOING TO BE EVEN MORE DIFFERENT AS WE ALL EXPERIENCED THE REALIZATION: WE WON’T EVEN TALK ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING, WILL WE?

Since my husband and I are in special education, our son’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) was airtight. We felt confident he could access his school day, general education with the Resource Support Program (RSP), and speech and occupational therapy (OT). First grade, here he comes!

Now, we are not rookie parents. We have three older kids and know intimately many of the issues that happen at school. We addressed those things in our son’s IEP, but one thing we had not thought of at his age was bullying.

In September 2021, my son was assaulted in his school’s bathroom. Writing this and talking about it is still devastating and difficult. What is even more heartbreaking is that no one knew. My son does speak; however, he is still working on communication. When asked about his day that day, he said the same thing he says every day. It wasn’t until I read his communication log with his teacher that I read, “Josiah came back from the bathroom crying and upset; he could not tell me why, so I told him to show or tell me when he is ready.” It then went on to say, “At recess, he brought me to a kid and said the kid was mean to him. The student admitted to saying something mean to him, so I made him apologize.”

There are two main times I find out what is going on with Jo: during our walks or during bath time. He began to say things like “ouch” and “arm.” It did not take me long to put together what the teacher said in the communication log and the random accounts of his day.

There was more that went into this, of course, and it has since been handled. Despite this, we are still scarred from the incident, and him being so vulnerable in situations like this is so scary. At the same time, there are some wonderful classmates and friends he has made being in an inclusive setting that have brought him so much joy this year!

With that being said, I want to bring awareness and action steps to this issue so you can best protect your child before this happens.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Education released the first federal definition of bullying. The definition includes three core elements:

• Unwanted aggressive behavior

• The observed or perceived power imbalance

• Repetition or high likelihood of repetition of bullying behaviors

This definition helps determine whether an incident is bullying, another type of aggressive behavior, or both. When bullying is directed at a child because of their established disability, and it creates a hostile environment at school, bullying behavior may cross the line and become “disability harassment.”

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the school must address the harassment.

IEPs, as well as 504 plans, can help outline supports and services that can prevent and respond to bullying and harassment of disabled students.

IEP goals for the student can include self-advocacy skills that will help them communicate what is going on at school and how to respond.

Here are five ways to address this issue in your child’s IEP:

1. Add self-advocacy goals

2. Ask about what type of social skills groups are offered at your child’s school

3. What type of School-Wide Bullying/Inclusion Programs and Training does your child’s school offer? (You can ask for trainings in your IEP.)

4. Document, document, document (put into writing your concerns)

5. You can request a copy of your school district’s discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy and complaint process. Your school district might have its policy and complaint process available on its website

I hope this helps, as we are all looking out for the best interest of our kids and working towards the betterment of their futures.

Additional Resources www.stopbullying.org https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html

Markeisha Hall, MA, CATP, is an IEP Coach, Certified Autism Travel Professional, Parent Empowerment Partner, and CEO of Hallegacy, LLC. She also is married to her college sweetheart and has four beautiful children. After 11 dedicated years of facilitating over two dozen IEP meetings annually as a member of the Early Childhood Assessment Team, Markeisha knew she needed to be a Special Education Teacher and advocate to help parents be more impactful members at the table. In 2018, Markeisha became more intimate with this reality when her family adopted their youngest son. During the adoption process, he was diagnosed with autism. Markeisha is now bringing her IEP process mastery and special education expertise into consulting services to help parents take the lead on their students’ educational roadmap, create more inclusive educational and recreational experiences, and shift from awareness to empowered action.

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