Dis Shoes, Get Written Up Under Bullying Law

A student who didn't like another student's shoes and let the other student know it was among the first possible cases of bullying to be documented in Montville under a new state anti-bullying law that , the superintendent said.

District officials at the Monday Board of Education meeting discussed the paperwork, followup investigations and parent notifications generated by the new policy and expressed concern that it would be diverting employees' attention away from their other responsibilities.

Board Vice President Matthew Kayne asked Superintendent Paul Fried how administrators will handle the volume of paperwork and board member John Morella asked if some schools districts would be looking to hire additional staff to deal with the reports.

"I'm certainly hoping we don't have to get to that point," Fried said of hiring additional staff for that purpose. But he said if new reports keep coming in at a steady clip, "We would certainly be diverting resources in ways that we wouldn't want to be."

Fried said the law defines bullying in such a way that almost any questionable act could be considered bullying, and that staff and faculty are inclined to err on the side of reporting incidents because the law provides penalties for people who don't report cases. Fried said some parents have been amused by the incidents reported to them involving their children.

Fried has said the district will work to support students as it has always done, but that the new reporting requirements are onerous for districts even though he fully agrees with the intent of the law.