How To: Strengthen Your School's Bullying Policy

Do something (pun intended) about bullying in your school. Team up with friends and talk to a teacher, dean, or principal about it.

1. Research your school's current policy. Read the student handbook and ask the front office where to find the current bullying policy.
2. Compare how other schools deal with bullying. Look online or call those schools and ask. Find out what you want to use and what has proven to work.
3. Recruit former victims. Besides you and your friends, think about bringing some people who have been bullied, so they can share their experiences with the administration.
4. Pick a school official. Make sure this person will take you seriously, and keep your personal experiences confidential, unless you choose otherwise.
5. Bring up your proposal. Explain the elements from other schools' policies that you want to implement. Do you want to ban all hate speech? Do you want to establish a peer mediation program? Think of specific solutions.
6. Don’t forget to arrange a follow-up meeting. Maybe you'll have to meet with someone higher up, like the school board. Whatever the roadblock, keep the conversation going until the policy changes.