Anti-Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Resources

Ohio schools and districts work to create safe and supportive learning environments for their students and staff. As part of these efforts, Ohio law requires schools and districts to adopt policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying.  Harassment, intimidation, or bullying means any intentional written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that: 

  •  A student or group of students exhibited toward other particular student more than once and;  ​
  • The behavior both causes mental or physical harm to the other student; and
  • Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for the other student including violence within a dating relationship. 
These behaviors may also occur by an act of electronic means committed through the use of a cellular telephone, personal communication device, or other electronic communication device. The resources below present options available to help schools and families address these issues.   

Anti-Harrassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Policy

Ohio law requires the board of education of each city, local, exempted village and joint vocational school district establish a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying.   

The Department of Education and Workforce offers a model policy, strategies and resources that assist school personnel and families to identify and address issues of bullying, intimidation and harassment that occur between students.  

What kind of guidance is available for district leaders?

The Anti-Bullying Guidance document helps schools identify, investigate, and intervene in student-to-student bullying incidents.

How can we prevent bullying?

A Plan for School-wide Safety informs what schools should to do prevent and address further incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying including teen dating violence, cyber bullying, bullying on the school bus, or human trafficking. 

What can schools do to address bullying and keep students safe?

After an incident is reported, school administration can investigate and develop a Student Action Plan to safeguard all students from further incidents of harassment, intimidation, bullying.  School administration may have a separate action plan for each student involved in a reported incident. Students may include: 

  • Each student directly harmed.  
  • Each student involved in causing harm.  
  • Each bystander. (Note: bystanders may have participated in causing harm through encouragement or support of harmful actions or may have experienced harm as witnesses.) 

Student action plan

Student Action Planning is a process between the student, their parent or guardian, school staff, and peers to effectively respond to student safety needs. A Student Action Plan helps schools work with the student and family to develop a plan to safeguard all students involved following incidents involving bullying, including cyberbullying and bullying on the school bus, harassment, teen dating violence, and human trafficking. A Student Action Plan guides schools through the prevention and intervention planning process to when addressing incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying. When preparing a Student Action Plan schools should follow FERPA guidelines. 

When action planning with a student who was harmed, adults can do the following:  
 

  1. Listen to the student’s concerns, identify student needs, and determine risk factors that can be lessened or protective factors that can be strengthened for this student; 

  1. Identify when and where they feel most at risk and what will increase their safety in those situations; 

  1. Help them make a plan to address these situations;  

  1. Document who will participate in implementation of the action plan, including check in points and potentially including peers to promote prosocial behavior and adults are responsible for student safety; and 

  1. Monitor the plan regularly for progress and make changes as needed. 


When action planning with a student who caused harm, adults can do the following:  
 

  1. Listen to the student’s perspective;  

  1. Identify needs the student has; determine risk factors that can be lessened or protective factors that can be strengthened for this student;  

  1. Develop a plan of action to reduce risk factors and provide discipline as appropriate. Alternatives to discipline can help students reflect, learn, and restore relationships and prevent future harm to others; 

  1. Document who will participate in implementation of the action plan, including check in points. Peers can promote prosocial behavior and adults are responsible to enforce student safety; and  

  1. Monitor the plan regularly for progress and make changes as needed.  

Students, staff and parents can call or text to report bullying behavior to the Ohio Safer Schools Tipline at 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) 24 hours a day.

Required Safety and Violence Prevention Training 

 

Ohio law requires certain school personnel to complete in-service training on topics related to student health and safety. To assist schools in meeting these requirements, the Department of Education and Workforce, in partnership with members of the Ohio School Safety and Violence Prevention Workgroup, created Safety and Violence Prevention Curriculum. The four training modules cover the following topics:  

  1. Behavioral Health, Mental Health and Substance Use  

  1. Depression and Suicide   

  1. Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying and Dating Violence  

  1. Child Abuse and Human Trafficking  

Schools can access the training modules, which include a slide deck, script and knowledge check questions, on the Ohio School Safety Center's website.   

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Last Modified: 9/13/2024 11:18:47 AM