Bullying and Violence Prevention
Bullying is Defined
“Bullying” means the intentional harassment, intimidation, humiliation, ridicule, defamation, or threat or incitement of violence by a student against another student or public school employee by a written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that:
- May address an attribute of the other student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated;
- Involves an actual or reasonably perceived power imbalance;
- Is repeated or has a high likelihood of repetition; AND
- Causes or creates actual or reasonably foreseeable:
- Physical harm to a public school employee or student or damage to the public school employee's or student's property;
- Substantial interference with a student's education or with a public school employee's role in education;
- A hostile educational environment for one (1) or more students or public school employees due to the severity, persistence, or pervasiveness of the act; or
- Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the public school or educational environment.
"Bullying" includes cyberbullying
"Cyberbullying" means any form of communication by electronic act that is sent with the purpose to:
- Harass, intimidate, humiliate, ridicule, defame, or threaten a student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated; or
- Incite violence against a student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated.
A.C.A §6-18-514(b)(2-3):