BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As Buffalo Public School students and staff prepare to head back to class next week, bullying is top of mind, especially for board member Larry Scott.
"That one meeting we had in June left an impression on myself. All of us. The board members. The superintendent," Scott said.
A few months ago members of the BPS community shared concerns over bullying.
SEE MORE: Community joins grieving family as they call on Buffalo School Board to address bullying
"We must make sure that we send a strong message to bullying of any kind," one speaker said in June.
The call for action came weeks after 12-year-old BPS student Dariel Rivera died by suicide. 7 News spoke with Rivera's grandmother about that tragic day.
SEE: Grandmother of bullying victim calls on BPS to do more after grandson died by suicide
"This was all because of bullying at school something that could've been prevented," Blanca Martinez said.
Now, Buffalo's Board of Education is taking action. The board unanimously passed a resolution sponsored by Scott. It requires the following from the school administrators:
- Information on how staff are trained on Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
- The reporting and resolution process of harassment/bullying incidents under DASA, within each school and with appropriate district departments and staff
- The rate of harassment/bullying incidents under DASA district-wide and aggregated by school over the past five school years
- A process to publicly identify the Dignity Act Coordinator for the district and for each school to students, staff, and persons in parental relation
"My intention was to make sure every school is clearly enforcing this legislation, our district policies," Scott said, "I think it's a matter of making people aware,"
7 News reached out to BPS about this resolution. Jeffrey Hammond, Director of Public Relations and Information with the district, shared the following statement:
"The Buffalo Public Schools is committed to preventing bullying and harassment and to ensuring that our schools are safe and provide environments that promote learning for all students. For these reasons, the District looks forward to working with the Board of Education this fall to not only provide the requested information, but to further strengthen our anti-bullying and harassment initiatives. In addition, the District is reviewing and updating its policies and procedures pertaining to bullying and has held multiple trainings regarding bullying for all staff that will continue throughout the school year."
BPS also provides bullying and DASA resources on its website here.
The information will be presented to the board at a meeting in October.
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