Colfax-Mingo takes bullying and harassment very seriously. We also understand that conflict between peers is a normal part of life. To help differentiate between normal peer conflicts and bullying situations, the Iowa Department of Education provides the following chart:
Normal Peer Conflict |
Bullying – Including Relational Bullying |
| Equal power or friends | Imbalance of power. Not friends or were friends and relational bullying now in place |
| Happens occasionally | Negative actions that are repeated or have the potential to be repeated |
| Accidental | Purposeful |
| Not serious | Serious with threat of physical or emotional harm |
| Equal emotional reaction | Strong emotional reaction or indication of impact and little or no emotional reaction from perpetrator |
| Not seeking power or attention | Attempt to gain power, dominance, control, and social status/power |
| Not trying to get something | May attempt to gain material things |
| Remorse-will take responsibility | No remorse-typically blames the target |
| Effort to solve the problem | No or little effort to SOLVE the problem |
According to Iowa Code, bullying is defined as: any electronic, written, verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of the student and which creates an objectively hostile school environment that meets one or more of the following conditions:
- Places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property
- Has a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health
- Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s academic performance
- Has the effect of substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school
You may view our anti-bullying and harassment policy for full details on our policies, procedures, and resolution actions.