California Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies

What term is used in the California anti-bullying laws?

Bullying. Harassment is defined separately.

Yes.

The following groups are listed under California state law—although these are defined under harassment, not bullying:

Disability
Gender
Nationality
Race or ethnicity
Religion
Sexual orientation
Association with a person or group with one of more of these actual or perceived characteristics

Schools that receive federal funding are required by federal law to address discrimination on a number of different personal characteristics. Find out when bullying may be a civil rights violation.

A state model policy is available at the California Department of Education.

Key Components	Present in California State Laws	Present in California Model Policy
DEFINITIONS
Purpose	NO	YES
Scope	YES	YES
Prohibited Behavior	YES	YES
Enumerated Groups	YES	YES
DISTRICT POLICY REVIEW & DEVELOPMENT
District Policy	YES	N/A
District Policy Review	YES	N/A
DISTRICT POLICY COMPONENTS
Definitions	NO	N/A
Reporting	YES	YES
Investigations	YES	YES
Written Records	YES	NO
Consequences	YES	YES
Mental Health	NO	NO
ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS
Communications	YES	YES
Training/Prevention	YES	YES
Transparency/Monitoring	YES	NO
Legal Remedies	NO	NO

NOTE: Click on the Key Components links to get more information about that component.

See “Bullying and Hate-Motivated Behavior Prevention” by the California Department of Education.

Information for this page was developed from “Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies – December 2011” (U.S. Department of Education).