Fine Print: Anti-Bullying Incident Report Form

What it is: The state this week distributed to school districts the new form for reporting incidents of harassment, bullying and intimidation under the new Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. The form is page 4 of the state's system for recording all incidents of violence, vandalism, and substance abuse in schools.

What it means: The form is the first of several steps the state is taking to address worries about the bureaucratic burdens imposed by the new law aimed to prevent bullying in and outside of schools. While lauding the law's intentions, administrators and educators have said the state up to now has provided little guidance on how to implement a law that requires strict timelines and procedures for investigating accusations of bullying, including those online and outside school.

What it demands: The form requires administrators in every school to report to the state and their own Boards of Education a checklist of details about any confirmed case of bullying, including the nature of the incident and how it was resolved, be it suspension, counseling and even restitution.

Details, details: The form lists the protected categories as they relate to bullying and harassment in the law, including gender, race, sexual orientation, "gender identity and expression" and "other distinguishing categories."

Mode and effect: Every incident is also broken down into how such bullying happened (physical, gesture, electronic, and so on.) and its effect, such as "substantially disrupted or interfered with orderly operation of a school or rights of students or others."

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