Judge criticizes zero-tolerance bully policies

Students used to handle bullies on their own: with a good beatdown on the playground.

Now bullies and their victims are both punished for fighting.

Most schools across the metro area — and across the nation — have a “zero-tolerance” policy against fights, which means both the bully and the victim are disciplined, said Steven Teske, president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges of Georgia.

“Zero tolerance is zero intelligence,” said Teske, a juvenile court judge in Clayton County. “It’s merely a political response, a knee-jerk reaction and often not put much thought is put into it.”

Last week, 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera committed suicide after relentless bullying at Dunaire Elementary School in DeKalb County, his family said.

Bullying can range from children teasing each other about weight or a pair of glasses to insults about race or gender, said Bill Nigut, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

“You can’t eliminate all of it,” he said. “But when that kind of teasing starts, it can easily get out of hand and lead to violence.”

DeKalb school officials insist they take all steps to rid their schools of bullying, including participating in the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” program, which integrates anti-bullying and anti-harassment lessons into the curriculum.

Through the program, all Dunaire students, teachers and staff signed an anti-bullying pledge, DeKalb schools spokesman Dale Davis said.

“It’s all about getting students to say no to hatred and have this rallying cry,” Nigut said.

More than 150 schools in the metro area participate in the program.

Despite the program and a Georgia law that prohibits bullying, tragedies like Herrera’s death result from parents and school officials failing to identify bullies, Teske said.

“In general, administrators won’t investigate to see who the primary aggressor is,” he said. “So it is difficult to identify who the true bully is. The zero tolerance promotes dealing with both of them.”

Georgia law requires a discipline hearing after the third incident of bullying with a referral to an alternative school setting upon a finding of guilt.

The DeKalb school system will not tolerate bullying and other forms of harassment and reserves the right to punish students after the first incident and upon a finding of guilt, Davis said.

Police said there is little they can do to enforce the state law, unless the bullies commit another crime such as battery or disorderly conduct. There are also limits to prosecuting young children, said Lt. Scott Stubbs, commander of the Clayton County school resource officer unit.

In most case, bullies have larger problems at home, said Annie Kelahan, clinical director of the Odyssey Family Counseling Center, which has offices in DeKalb, College Park and McDonough.

“When children are victims of violence themselves, they model that,” she said. “There’s a reason that child is bullying in the first place.”

Bullying can also lead to behavior problems, bad grades, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and eating disorders, Kelahan said.

Parents usually don’t show up for school conferences or other intervention to help their children, Teske said.

Teske’s way of handling the problems is with subpoena. In the next few months, he will start enforcing a chronic discipline policy, which will require parents to follow the school’s recommendations. That can include everything from court-mandated counseling to intervention from the Division of Family and Children Services.

“Kids bully in schools and cause problems for teachers. It’s my job as a judge to exercise judicial leadership to bring everybody together to address the issues as to why this child is the way he or she is,” Teske said. “I’m trying to capture those bullies in a very common-sense manner without victimizing kids who get caught up in stupid fights.”