Milan Area Schools adopts revised anti-bullying policy after public hearing

Milan Area Schools Board of Education members on July 9 held a public hearing on proposed revisions to Policy 5.207 (anti-bullying) and voted to repeal and adopt board policies described in attachment E.

The revisions to the anti-bullying policy followed the district’s transition from Neola-provided policies to Troon-provided policies; board staff said state law requires a public hearing when the district changes its anti-bullying policy. Assistant Superintendent Jen Bookout and Superintendent Ryan McMahon told the board the new text generally follows Michigan law but is reorganized from the prior policy.

Parents and community members urged the board to strengthen enforcement and expand supports. Emily Dunn, a parent, described a multi-month bullying episode her child experienced and said peer mediation had not resolved the issue: “...peer mediation was always the way to solve it, which for a child, the last thing they want to do is be in a room with someone who’s bullying them,” she said. Dunn asked the board to ensure alternatives to peer mediation and clearer disciplinary steps are available.

Several speakers pressed the district for more systematic data and culture checks. Parent Sheena Slavacek, who described her daughter’s multi-year bullying at Milan Middle School, urged the board to use anonymous culture surveys that allow students to report frequency, locations and names without fear of retaliation. She said existing responses left her child home-bound and that lunch detentions had not stopped recurring harm. Her husband, Matt Slavacek, asked the board to address cyberbullying and to clarify how annual reports are used to drive change.

Pam Ackerman, speaking from experience in a neighboring district, urged the board to consider inexpensive “help cards” for students in crisis and highlighted Gabby’s Grief Center in Monroe as a free local resource for grief and survivor support. She described cards that students can hand to peers or staff to signal an immediate need for help and provided printed materials to the board.

Board members and administrators responded to concerns while explaining limits and procedures. Superintendent Ryan McMahon said the district’s anti-bullying policy does not prescribe specific disciplinary sanctions; those are addressed in building-level student discipline codes and the district’s code of conduct. “The policy isn’t going to address the specific consequences for bullying. That’s going to continue to be followed along in the student discipline policy,” McMahon said. He added that consequences are applied based on factors such as pervasiveness and severity.

On cyberbullying and off-campus incidents, McMahon and Bookout said the district acts when outside conduct creates or risks a substantial disruption to the school learning environment, and that in some cases law enforcement may be involved. Bookout said building principals maintain codes of conduct and that administration will work during summer meetings to consider implementation and consistency across sites.

Following public comment and discussion, the board closed the hearing and adopted the policies described in attachment E by a 4-0 vote. Board members said adoption does not prevent future revisions: President Andrew Sislow noted that policies can be revisited if administrators or community members identify necessary changes.

The board and administration said they will continue implementation work during summer administrative meetings, including discussions with building principals about codes of conduct and discipline procedures.

The district did not provide a different, separate enumerated schedule of sanctions in the new anti-bullying policy; speakers requesting specific disciplinary consequences were told those details reside in student discipline codes at the building level and are handled case-by-case.