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1998 Massachusetts School Health Education Profile Report

School Policies Concerning Health and Safety

For schools to foster learning and promote health-enhancing behaviors among adolescents, they must first be safe and drug-free. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. According to the 1997 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in the previous year nearly one quarter of high school students (24%) had used alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana on school property; 42% had been sold, offered, or given drugs on school property; 13% had been in a physical fight at school; and 8% had been threatened or injured with a weapon at school. Additionally, 8% of students had themselves carried a weapon at school in the past month.

Clear school policies about acceptable and unacceptable behavior, staff training on those policies, and strong enforcement are essential in protecting student safety, establishing a school climate conducive to learning, and fostering responsible development among adolescents. In a supplement added to the School Health Education Profile survey, principals answered questions about school policies related to alcohol and other drug use, to violence and to bullying/harassment. Tobacco use prevention policies have been investigated as part of the Health Protection Fund Evaluation and are not discussed here.

Alcohol and Drug Policies: Almost all schools (97%) had a written policy concerning alcohol and drug use.

• Middle schools were somewhat less likely than high schools to have a written policy concerning alcohol and drug use (95% vs. 99%).
• Policies of most schools (83%) specifically defined alcohol and other drugs covered.
• Virtually all school policies (97%) listed areas of jurisdiction for their policies.
• All policies (100%) covered school buildings and grounds during regular school hours,
• 98% covered school-sponsored events off-campus,
• 93% specifically mentioned school buildings during non-school hours, and
• 88% mentioned school grounds during non-school hours.
• Of schools with alcohol and other drug policies, 99% had descriptions of violations and possible consequences. Consequences included:
• requiring parents or guardians to meet with school officials, reported by 95% of principals,
• requiring student to meet with school counselor or administrator (93%),
• in-school detention or suspension (90%),
• suspension or expulsion from extracurricular activities (91%),
• student suspension or expulsion (95%), and
• student referral to an assistance program (76%).
• Most school policies (91%) included due process guidelines for search and seizure and for confidentiality, and most (96%) also included procedures for communicating the policy to students, staff, and parents and for implementing the policy.
• Only 57% of schools with written alcohol and drug policies had provided staff with any training regarding these policies within the previous two years. Approximately one third (31%) of schools with no written alcohol/drug policy had provided in-service training for staff on these issues within that time.
• Only 59% of school alcohol and drug policies specified requirements for alcohol/ drug prevention education for students. Even so, alcohol and drug use prevention was the single content area most frequently taught in required health education classes and was covered by 99% of all health teachers surveyed. (See Figure 6.)

Fighting and Weapon Policies. The great majority of secondary schools (98%) had a written fighting and weapon possession/use policy in place. School level differences in having such a policy were minor.

• Of schools with such policies, all (100%) had rules against fighting and against weapon possession and use, though only 57% specifically defined "fighting" and 85% specifically defined oritemized "weapons."
• Of school fighting/weapon policies:
• 98% contained descriptions of violations and possible consequences,
• 90% included due process guidelines for search, seizure and confidentiality, and
• 95% specified areas of jurisdiction (e.g., school grounds, school events).

• Of schools with written fighting/weapon policies, almost all (97%) had procedures for communicating their policies to students, staff, and parents; and 97% had procedures for implementing those policies.
• Only 38% of schools with fighting/weapon policies specifically included a requirement for violence prevention education as part of their policies. Even so, 95% of health teachers reported including conflict resolution and violence prevention as part of a required health education class (see Figure 6).
• Of schools with fighting/weapon policies, fewer than two-thirds (62%) had provided in-service staff training on those policies within the previous two years.

Bullying and Harassment Policies. Bullying and harassment intimidate students, severely disrupt the learning process, and destroy the sense of safety and community within the school. Students who are harassed by their peers tend to disengage from academic learning and to become alienated from the school community that has failed to protect them. Written school policies against bullying and harassment are an important first step in guaranteeing a safe learning environment for all youth.

• Most schools have specific policies against bullying and harassment. Almost all have specific written policies against sexual harassment (99%) and harassment related to race or ethnicity (97%). Over four-fifths (82%) have a policy against bullying in general. Slightly over three-quarters (77%) have a written policy aimed at ensuring a safe school environment for gay and lesbian students.
• Policies on bullying, sexual harassment, and race-related harassment were similar across school levels. In contrast, middle schools were significantly less likely than junior/senior highs or high schools to have a written policy regarding safety for gay and lesbian students (69% vs. 81% and 88%).
• During the prior two years, most schools had offered in-service training for staff on bullying/harassment policies:
• 81% of the schools with a written sexual harassment policy and 25% of those without a written policy had offered staff training on sexual harassment prevention policy issues.
• 67% of schools with a policy prohibiting ethnic/racial harassment and 20% of those without such a written policy had offered staff training on ethnic/racial harassment prevention.
• 62% of the schools with a safe schools for gay and lesbian students policy and 12% of those without such a written policy had offered staff training regarding safe schools for gay and lesbian students.
• 51% of schools with a policy prohibiting bullying and 10% of those without such a written policy had offered staff training on bullying.

Policy on Adult Presence at Student Events. Seven of ten (71%) schools reported having a written policy concerning staff or other adult presence at student meetings or events on school grounds. Of those with a written policy, 46% had provided staff training on the policy within the past two years; 8% of schools without a written policy had also provided training on adult presence at student meetings and events.

Summary and Implications

Most Massachusetts secondary schools have in place basic policies related to substance use and violence-related behaviors on school property. In most instances, these seem to include an appropriate level of specificity. On the other hand, many schools do not have policies related to general bullying or harassment of gay and lesbian students. The Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1998) indicates that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents in particular are often threatened at school and may skip school because they feel unsafe. Other youth, perhaps targeted because of disability, other personal characteristics, or membership in marginalized groups, are also frequently taunted, bullied, threatened, or hurt by other students in school. It is the obligation of schools to ensure that all students are treated with dignity and respect. Strong school policies against bullying and harassment are a key first step in that direction. Additionally, it is critical that members of the staff and students alike be reminded on a regular basis of exactly what the policies are and how they will be enforced.

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