By Staff Writer Lynn Arbid
On Dec. 16, 2013, District 203’s board of education approved a new teen dating violence policy to ensure that students have access to a safe learning environment.
According to deputy superintendent Kaine Osburn, this policy was created as result of Illinois statute (105 ILCS 110/3.10) enacted on Aug. 6, 2013, which requires each school district to have such a policy in place.
“The school board and all the school staff have already had a long standing commitment to protect students from [teen dating violence],” said Osburn. “This simply addresses the issue in one single policy as required by the state.”
The policy specifically addresses the definition of teen dating violence, age-appropriate education on the subject for grades 7-12, and the manner in which staff are to respond to such behavior.
Parents and students will be notified on the policy via Talk203 and the district website.
The terms of this policy will become a part of the student handbook, which students must sign at the beginning of each school year.
According to Osburn, the learning services department and various teachers will create the curriculum for the education program. Outside agencies and community partnerships with similar programming may or may not be used.
The district is planning to look at the health curriculum that is already in place for grades 7, 8, and 10 in regards to educating students dating violence.
However, grades 9, 11, and 12 do not have a health class in place, so the district is exploring other possible options to incorporate teen dating violence education within those grades.
“It could be a class, an assembly, a large group activity outside an event, like homecoming or prom,” said Osburn. “We would work with the schools to tailor that to what works best to their school programing.”
If a student experiences and/or is aware of such behavior as outlined by the policy, they should report the information to a staff member immediately, whether in person or via Tip 203, District 203’s anonymous tip line.
The consequences for such actions are outlined in the student handbook and are dependent upon the severity of the situation.
By the 2014-2015 school year, the programming should be in place.
