Colorado Anti-Bullying Law
What to do if you or a friend are being bullied?
If you are being bullied on school grounds, according to state law, you may contact the followng authoraties:
- School Principal, teacher, and/or counselor.
- School Superintendent.
- Parents
If you are being cyber-bullied you may report the harassment to the following people,
- Website, application, server administrator
- Parents
Is it bullying?1
In the state of Colorado, "Bullying", is defined as the means of any written, verbal, or physical/electronic act that's intended to:
- Intimidate
- Cause any physical, mental, or emotional harm to any student.
Bullying is prohibited against any student for any reason, including but not limited to any such behavior that is directed toward a student on the basis of his or her academic performance or religious, political, or philosophical views.
(Colorado Revised Statutes §22-32-109.1)
| State | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Bullying Law | Yes |
| Include "cyberbullying" | Yes |
| Include electronic harassment | Yes |
| Criminal Sanction | Yes |
| School sanction | Yes |
| Require School Policy | Yes |
| Include off campus behaviors? | No |
Summary2
- State has a law pertaining to bullying
- The term cyberbullying is specifically included
- The law does include electronic harassment
- The law does provide for criminal sanctions
- The law does have a school policy on bullying
- State does NOT follow federal law for off-campus bullying behavior
School's reponsibility for OFF campus bullying
No official action stated for off campus bullying in Colorado. However, if incidents were to occur on:
- School premises
- School transport
That threaten the welfare of a student, then the school may enforce policies.
News about Bullying in Colorado
Resources
2http://cyberbullying.org/Bullying-and-Cyberbullying-Laws.pdf
3Horowitz, M. & Bollinger, D.M. (2014). Cyberbullying in social media within educational institutions. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield
