Minnesota Schools Looking For Ways To Address Bullying

ALBERT LEA  (AP) _ Minnesota has provided public schools with a baseline policy on how to address issues of bullying, but some educators say the approach individual districts or schools take to resolve the problem can vary.

Albert Lea Area Schools Superintendent Mike Funk says that the district's bullying prevention policy is vague because issues are addressed on a case-by-case basis.

The Minnesota Department of Education's State Model Student Bullying Prohibition policy sets the state standard for addressing bullying. The policy was created following the 2014 Safe and Supportive Schools Act, which requires Minnesota schools to create a bullying policy and consistently review it.

The state's policy says bullying involves an imbalance of power, is a repetitive behavior and involves offensive intimidating, threatening, abusive or harmful conduct.