Get Help With Bullying, Harassment or Discrimination

1. Notify a teacher or school leader (for example, a principal, campus safety officer, counselor, etc.) right away; The staff member should make a plan to inform the principal. Telling an administrator counts as a bullying report. You are encouraged to also write down the details to document the incident(s) and share your notes with the principal. 
2. Write down the details about what happened, where and when the incident happened, who was involved, and the names of any witnesses. Do this for every incident. Keep copies of any related documents or other information. If you give a verbal report, follow up with a written report (for example, scan your notes or take a picture with your phone and email it to the principal). An email or a copy of your notes counts as a bullying report. 
3. Complete a Bullying Complaint Form. Print a form using the buttons above or ask for a blank form in your school's main office. Make a copy of the completed form for yourself or request a copy before giving it to any school office manager or administrator; or scan and email the form to the administrator. 

Yes. You can use the online Anonymous Report and choose to remain anonymous or submit your name. The school administrator will be able to investigate the report when you add as many details as possible about the situation. 

• The administrator begins an initial investigation as soon as possible - no later than 48 hours after the bullying report was made
• If bullying is found in the initial investigation, the administrator takes interim steps to complete the investigation and to protect the victim and witnesses of the bullying incident
• The administrator notifies parents/guardians of the students involved of the bullying report and status of the investigation
• The administrator develops a response and safety plan to protect the targeted (or potentially targeted) student(s)
• The administrator sends a written resolution to parent/guardian within 10 days

• Individuals who complete the Bullying Complaint Form will be protected from retaliation
• To the extent possible, administrators investigating an incident will protect the confidentiality of the identity of the person reporting the incident 
• The student(s) who allegedly did bullying behaviors will be informed about the complaint as part of the investigation
• The results of the investigation (confirmation of the incident(s) as bullying or not bullying) and response will be shared back to the person who completed the Bullying Complaint Form
• However, the details of the intervention and/or disciplinary consequences for the student who did the bullying behaviors must be kept confidential and may not be shared due to educational privacy rights 

• Ask the school to translate or interpret information into a language you understand if needed. If you need help completing the form, you can ask school staff for assistance. If you need communication support because of a disability, you can ask for accommodations. 

• Consider filing a Uniform Complaint if you are not satisfied with the resolution after following the bullying report process listed above or if you have any complaints about the process. Please see the Uniform Complaints page for more information.

• Consider seeking mental health services if needed. Sometimes counseling or mental health support can be helpful for a student who has been harassed or bullied. 

Hayward Unified School District staff and community members continually strive to provide a safe learning environment that protects students from physical and emotional harm. The HUSD Board of Education updated our Board Policy 5131.2 and Administrative Regulation 5131.2 in February 2024. 

• Collaborate and build positive relationships and school environments

• Design inclusive curriculum and teach anti-bias/bullying prevention lessons

• Intervene in the moment if they witness acts of bullying or harassment to stop the harassment

• Report acts of bullying or harassment to the principal if they witness it

• Investigate reports of bullying and communicate with the student and parent/family about an effective resolution (Principal or Administrator responsibility)

Bullying is an aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power between individuals with the intent to cause emotional or physical harm. A student may attempt to hurt, humiliate, threaten, or exclude another less powerful student by using their power to control or harm others. Some examples of this power could be physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people. 

Bullying may be overt, or easily observable. Or the aggressive behavior may be covert, or passive-aggressive and not easily observable. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social/relational and may involve a single severe act or a repetition or potential repetition of a deliberate act. 

Please see the next section for examples of different types of bullying. 

Cyberbullying includes the electronic creation or transmission of harassing communications, direct threats, or other harmful texts, sounds, or images, which may be shared, sent or posted publicly. Cyberbullying may include, but is not limited to, personal or private information that causes humiliation, false or negative information to discredit or disparage, or threats of physical harm. Cyberbullying may also include breaking into another person's electronic account or assuming that person's online identity in order to damage that person's reputation. See detailed examples of cyberbullying below. 

Harassment and bullying are words that are often used interchangeably when talking about hurtful or harmful behavior. They are similar because they both may involve power and control, harmful actions, an imbalance of power and the target having difficulty stopping the behavior. Harassment includes the descriptions of bullying behavior AND the content of the harmful behavior is also directed at the target based on their protected identity. 

The following identity characteristics are protected by our HUSD Nondiscrimination and Harassment Policy: race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, immigration status, age, religion, marital or parental status, military or veteran status, pregnancy status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or genetic information. 

In an education environment, discrimination is the unfair or unequal treatment or consideration of a person or group of people based on class or category that denies equal access to their education, or denies access to a program or facility. The way the person or group of people is treated may be based on an individual's bias, power or prejudice or may result from the way a system or program functions. 

In HUSD, all students have the right to fair treatment and equal access to programs and facilities. The following identity characteristics are protected by our HUSD Nondiscrimination and Harassment Policy: race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, immigration status, age, religion, marital or parental status, military or veteran status, pregnancy status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or genetic information. 

The US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division gives examples of Types of Educational Opportunities Discrimination including race and/or national origin, sex-based, religious, English language learner and disability discrimination. 

Intimidation is being made to feel afraid or timid or deter saying or doing something because of a threat of harm. 

Sometimes an incident happens at school and the students or adults might quickly label the situation as bullying. However, there is an investigation and determination process that needs to be followed by an administrator for a situation to be identified as bullying. When a situation is a conflict, the students involved have equal power, and there might be a misunderstanding between friends or rudeness/meanness when a person is not acting like their best self.

Whether the situation involves bullying or conflict or something else, all of the students involved have the right to receive support and communication from school staff to arrive at an appropriate resolution.

Click here to learn more about bullying, conflict, rudeness and meanness.