The Effingham County Board of Education is now taking a new bullying policy into consideration to comply with legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly last year.

“One of the most difficult tasks that an administrator has before them is determining ‘what is bullying?’ and how severe that bullying is, or is it just teasing or is the person really bullying the child,” said Superintendent Randy Shearouse. “It’s very difficult.”

A policy has been in place in the district and across the state since original legislation passed in 1999. The new policy would expand the definition of bullying to include students in all grades, instead of only grades 6-12. The state legislators also modified the existing law to require school districts to inform parents or guardians when their child has been a victim or has committed an offense of bullying.

For the complete story, see Friday's edition of the Effingham Herald.