FLORENCE ISD

BULLYING

Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in written or verbal expression, 
expression through electronic methods, or physical conduct against another student on school 
property, at a school-sponsored or -related activity, or in a district operated vehicle, and the 
behavior:

 Results in harm to the student or the student’s property,
 Places a student in reasonable fear of physical harm or of damage to the student’s property, or
 Is so severe, persistent, and pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment.

This conduct is considered bullying if it exploits an imbalance of power between the student 
perpetrator(s) and the student victim and if it interferes with a student’s education or 
substantially disrupts the operation of the school.
Bullying is prohibited by the district and could include hazing, threats, taunting, teasing, 
confinement, assault, demands for money, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, 
name-calling, rumor-spreading, or ostracism. In some cases, bullying can occur through 
electronic methods, called “cyberbullying.”
If a student believes that he or she has experienced bullying or has witnessed bullying of another 
student, it is important for the student or parent to notify a teacher, school counselor, principal, or 
another district employee as soon as possible to obtain assistance and intervention. The 
administration will investigate any allegations of bullying or other related misconduct.
If the results of an investigation indicate that bullying has occurred, the administration will take 
appropriate disciplinary action. Disciplinary or other action may be taken even if the conduct did 
not rise to the level of bullying. The district will also contact the parents of the victim and of the 
student who was found to have engaged in the bullying. Available counseling options will be 
provided to these individuals, as well as to any students who have been identified as witnesses to 
the bullying.
Any retaliation against a student who reports an incident of bullying is prohibited.
Upon the recommendation of the administration, the board may, in response to an identified case 
of bullying, decide to transfer a student found to have engaged in bullying to another classroom
at the campus. The parent of a student who has been determined by the district to be a victim of 
bullying may request that his or her child be transferred to another classroom. [Also see
School Safety Transfers on page 9.]
A copy of the district’s policy is available in the principal’s office, superintendent’s office, and 
on the district’s website, and is included at the end of this handbook in the form of an appendix. 
Procedures related to reporting allegations of bullying may also be found on the district’s 
website.