In May 2023, the suicide of Lindsay, aged 13 and victim of school harassment, had upset the French. This scourge in schools then became a national priority. Thus, Thursday August 17, 2023, the Ministry of National Education published a new decree in Official newspaper about this serious societal problem. From now on, the bullying student may be transferred to another establishment, which was not the case before. A measure that allows the victim to avoid this process. As the 2023-2024 school year is fast approaching, the government takes the lead. “When the intentional and repeated behavior of a pupil poses a characterized risk to the safety or health of another pupil of the school, the school principal, after having brought together the educational team, implements, by involving the parents of the student whose behavior is in question, any educational measure likely to put an end to this behavior”, explains the text.
“The removal of this student from school”
“If the student’s behavior persists, the academic director of the national education services, […] may ask the mayor to remove this pupil from the school and enroll him in another school in the municipality”, can we still read in the decree of the Official newspaper. Gabriel Attal, recently appointed Minister of National Education, was visiting Reunion. In an interview given to Reunion and Indian Ocean daily newspaper Wednesday, August 16, 2023, he claimed “want zero tolerance against all forms of harassment”. Zero tolerance that also applies to cyberbullying. “The scope of the disciplinary procedure in cases in which students commit acts of harassment against students located in another establishment”, specify the text. The decree also details the actions to be implemented in the event of an attack on the values of the Republic. Thus, the headteacher “is required to initiate disciplinary proceedings” and can also “ask the academic director of the national education services to appoint […] a competent person in this field to sit with an advisory vote on the Disciplinary Board.” Already announced by the former Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye, these measures want to punish school harassment as much as possible, and avoid new tragedies like that of Lindsay.