Bullying Prevention

Tarrant City Schools is dedicated to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for every student. According to the TCS Policy Manual, all students are expected to show courtesy, respect, and dignity toward one another. No student should participate in or experience bullying, harassment, violence, threats, or intimidation based on any characteristics outlined by the TCS Board of Education. To report bullying incidents, please reference the information below and use the Bullying Report Form to submit incidents to the school.

Bullying Prevention Policy

Sexual Harassment Policy

Definition and Types of Bullying

Bullying Definition

Bullying Definition

Bullying is defined as any deliberate and repeated act of aggressive or demeaning behavior involving a real or perceived power imbalance, occurring on or off school grounds. This behavior involves one or more individuals causing physical or psychological harm to another. To qualify as bullying, the actions must place a student in reasonable fear of harm or property damage, significantly disrupt educational performance or school operations, or create a hostile, intimidating, threatening, or abusive learning environment.

An Imbalance of Power: Students who engage in bullying leverage their power—such as physical strength, access to sensitive information, or social status—to control or harm others. These power imbalances can shift over time and across situations, even if they involve the same individuals.

Cyberbullying occurs through digital devices such as cell phones, computers, and tablets and can include various harmful actions, such as:

Posting hurtful, mean, or embarrassing comments or rumors about someone online.
Making threats or encouraging someone to harm themselves.
Sharing a mean or offensive photo or video of someone.
Impersonating someone online to share personal or false information about them.
Posting derogatory comments or content targeting race, religion, ethnicity, or other personal traits.
Creating websites or pages intended to harm or embarrass someone.
Doxing: A form of harassment that involves publicly revealing personal information, like addresses, social security numbers, credit card details, phone numbers, social media links, and other private data, to intimidate or endanger someone’s privacy.

Verbal Bullying involves using words to intentionally hurt others. This includes:

Teasing
Name-calling
Making inappropriate sexual comments
Taunting
Threatening harm

Social Bullying, also known as relational bullying, aims to damage someone’s reputation or relationships. It can involve:

Deliberately excluding someone
Encouraging others not to befriend someone
Spreading rumors about a person
Publicly embarrassing someone

Physical Bullying involves causing harm to someone’s body or belongings. It includes:

Hitting, kicking, or pinching
Spitting
Tripping or pushing
Stealing or damaging someone’s possessions

Step 1 - Ask

When a potential bullying incident is reported, TCS staff will assess whether the behavior aligns with the characteristics of bullying outlined in the TCS Policy Manual. Specifically, they will evaluate if the behavior shows a pattern of repetition and involves a power imbalance. If these criteria are met, the report proceeds to Step 2. If not, standard disciplinary procedures will be followed in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

Step 2 - Contact

The principal or designated staff member will reach out to the parents of all students involved.

Please be aware that, under FERPA law, principals and school staff may only share information regarding the parent's or guardian's own child and cannot discuss details about other students.

When bullying is confirmed, both the student who was bullied and the aggressor will meet individually with the counselor (the aggressor may also face disciplinary actions). The counselor will assess if additional sessions are necessary, including the possibility of small group counseling.

Counseling Sessions: Individual or group counseling to support both the victim and the aggressor.
Behavior Support: The aggressor may be placed on the Problem-Solving Team (PST) for targeted behavior support.
Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring of the situation to ensure a safe environment for all students.
Reporting: Parents, students, and staff are encouraged to report any further incidents to the school promptly.

Reporting

Report Bullying
Follow-Up

Report Bullying

Follow-Up

Upon receiving a report or complaint, the principal or designee will promptly conduct an impartial investigation, gathering relevant facts and evidence based on the specifics of the complaint. If a violation is confirmed, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the student(s) involved.

The principal will inform the parent or guardian that an investigation is underway and, upon completion, will communicate the investigation’s outcome. Due to FERPA law, school staff can only share information regarding the parent or guardian’s own child and cannot disclose details about other students.