By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Alabaster City Schools is looking to make it easier for students, parents and faculty members to report bullying in schools, and can now investigate and intervene in certain cases of cyber bullying.

During a Feb. 27 special-called meeting, the Alabaster Board of Education approved changes to its bullying policy to bring the school system in compliance with a bill passed last year by the Alabama Legislature.

As a result of the changes, ACS will make a bullying reporting form available on its website and in the offices of all its schools for students, parents and staff members to fill out, in addition to the online anonymous alerts system already in place in the school system.

“They can fill out the form, and it will be given to the principal so they can investigate it,” said ACS Student Services Coordinator Dorann Tanner.

The changes will also allow the school to investigate and intervene in instances of cyber bullying, such as threatening social media posts, if the bullying affects the school day or instructional time.

Previously, the school system was limited in its ability to address cyber bullying if it did not occur on a school campus, Tanner said.

Because the legislative bill affects the entire state, all school systems in Alabama will likely pass similar changes to their bullying policies, she said.