5061.00 | Definition of Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, or Cyberbulling

  1. Harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying is defined to include any act (verbal, written, graphic, or physical conduct) that substantially interferes with a student’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance that takes place on school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, or on school-provided transportation, and that has the effect of:
    1. Physically harming a student or damaging a student’s property.
    2. Knowingly placing a student in reasonable fear of physical harm to the student or damage to the student’s property.
    3. Creating a hostile educational environment.
    4. Interfering with an individual’s educational performance.
    5. Otherwise adversely affecting an individual’s educational opportunities. 
  2. Harassment or intimidation includes, but is not limited to, any act which subjects an individual or group to unwanted, abusive behavior of a nonverbal, verbal, written, or physical nature on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, color, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, physical characteristic, cultural background, socioeconomic status, or geographic location. Harassment also includes an act of retaliation taken against 1) any person bringing a complaint of harassment, 2) any person assisting another person in bringing a complaint of harassment, or 3) any person participating in an investigation of an act of harassment. 
  3. Bullying is defined as intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words or other behavior such as name calling, threatening and/or shunning committed by one or more students against another. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional in nature. 
  4. Cyberbullying is defined as a student using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones to torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass or otherwise target another student.  (Revised 11/18/2020)