SANDPOINT — When someone says or does something unintentionally hurtful one time, it is considered rude. If someone does or says something once that is intentionally hurtful, it is mean.

When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they keep doing it, even when you tell them to stop or show them that you’re upset, that is when it crosses the line to bullying, said Lake Pend Oreille School District superintendent Tom Albertson.

“I know that this is very simply put, but this is coming from a curriculum that we use at our elementary schools called Second Step,” Albertson said, adding a definition from the State Department of Education website that “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-age children that involves a power imbalance.”

Albertson, along with Sandpoint High School assistant principal Derek Dickinson and school resource officers Spencer Smith and Dave Giffin, were asked to speak about bullying during the Sept. 29 Sandpoint Kiwanis Club meeting. The subject came up after Kiwanis officials learned of a recent account of bullying at SHS that ultimately led to the student quitting school and being home-schooled. Albertson and the officers presented the information to the LPOSD board during Tuesday’s meeting as well. And it was perfect timing, as October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

Smith said per Idaho Code, no student or minor on school property or at school activities shall “intentionally commit, or conspire to commit, an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying against another student.”

“In the state of Idaho, bullying is only an infraction,” Smith said, adding that if it progresses to threats, it would fall under a different statute, such as assault.

Per the 2018-2019 state report for LPOSD, with an enrollment of approximately 3,800 students, there were 29 individuals involved in 35 bullying or harassment incidents last year, Albertson said. Dickinson said bullying is one of the most challenging issues he deals with at SHS, because separating fact and fiction to get to the heart of the matter can be difficult in “he said, she said” situations, Dickinson said.

Social media gives students 24/7 access to each other, so cyberbullying is more prevalent now than physical bullying because it is “easier to be mean when you are not face to face,” Albertson said. Dickinson said cyberbullying is often done by both parties, so if one person comes in with a text message and says, ‘This person is bullying me,” school officials and the SRO go to that person who might also have a text message from the person who reported them that could be considered bullying or harassment. However, one side usually tends to take it “too far,” he said.

“So those are the challenges that we have,” Dickinson said. “These are not easy things to work through and address.”

To address bullying, Albertson said they have the aforementioned Second Step curriculum, taught at every elementary grade level. Monthly social-emotional curriculum at the middle school includes anti-bullying lessons. There is also a curriculum called “Why Try?” aimed at teaching students resilience against bullying so that when someone tries to bully them, it doesn’t gain any traction, he said.

At the high school level, the CORE Project aims at self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. In addition, there is a focus on social-emotional health through the Connections classes that meet once a month, using the Sources of Strength curriculum to build positive relationships and support.

SHS also has an anonymous hotline at 208-263-3034, ext. 4008, for bullying and other issues that may need to be reported.

Two of the key points the group focused on for bullying and harassment was partnering with parents to monitor and set boundaries on social media use, and “breaking the code of silence.”

“It is key that the student does not continue to put up with something just because they are afraid to report it,” Albertson said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.