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Parents press Griffith officials on off-hours texting, school jurisdiction and anonymous reporting
Summary
During a Q&A after a Bullying Free Future presentation, parents described abusive off-campus texts and asked what schools can do; district staff said discipline is possible if off-campus conduct demonstrably harms the learning environment and highlighted the StopIt anonymous-reporting app.
After an overview of bullying dynamics, audience members raised operational questions about how the district handles harassment that occurs off campus or outside school hours. A parent described abusive text and voice messages sent to a child outside school hours and said school staff told them the district could not act because the incident did not happen on school property. The parent also said a police referral had not resolved the issue.
A district representative responded that district policy focuses on adverse impacts to the learning environment: when off-campus conduct can be reliably tied to a student and it creates threat or substantially interferes with learning, the handbook authorizes disciplinary steps. Officials stressed that procedures vary by age and context (elementary versus high school) and encouraged parents to preserve evidence—screenshots, messages—and to bring that evidence to administrators or law enforcement when threats appear to be criminal.
District staff described the district’s use of the StopIt anonymous-reporting app on student iPads. Administrators and designated officers receive notifications and have a rota for checking tips; staff said the system had prompted immediate outreach in several cases, including late-night contacts that led to counselor follow-up and officer response. The district and Dujmovich recommended a two-pronged approach: parents should preserve and share evidence with law enforcement or school staff, and schools will investigate incidents that demonstrably affect the school environment.
Parents also asked practical prevention questions. Attendees recommended—and the presenter endorsed—keeping phones out of bedrooms at night, using parental controls, and checking device history. The presenter reiterated that preventive education (empathy training, bystander intervention) and restorative accountability make a difference alongside technical controls and reporting mechanisms.
The district said its handbook is being updated to clarify off-campus thresholds and that response varies by incident severity and student age. No formal district policy change or enforcement action was announced at the meeting.
