Administrative Procedure 5143 - Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation

I. Purpose

The purpose of this administrative procedure is to maintain a safe school environment that is conducive to learning and to ensure that school administrators and staff take measures to promote the prevention of bullying, harassment, or intimidation, as well as prohibit reprisal or retaliation against individuals who report these acts, in the learning environment.

II. Policy

It is the policy of the Board of Education of Prince George’s County (Board) to create safe and productive learning environments in our schools by prohibiting bullying, harassment, or intimidation of any person on school property, at school-sponsored activities or by the use of electronic technology or in any manner that substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school or school-sponsored activity in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). The Board considers it important to ensure that school administrators take measures to promote the prevention of bullying, harassment, or intimidation in the learning environment and inform parents of these efforts. (Board Policy 5143).

III. Background

In accordance with the provisions of Section 7-424.1 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Maryland State Board of Education developed and adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment, or intimidation. All local school systems were required to establish a policy prohibiting bullying, harassment, or intimidation based on the model policy by July 1, 2009. This administrative procedure implements Board Policy 5143 and focuses on bullying, harassment, or intimidation by students, whether against another student or another individual. Allegations of students being bullied by an employee are to be addressed under Administrative Procedure 4170, Discrimination and Harassment.

IV. Definitions

1. Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) - A proactive, data-based, structured plan that is developed as a result of a functional behavior assessment, which is consistently applied by trained staff to reduce or eliminate a student’s challenging behaviors and to support the development of appropriate behaviors and responses.
2. Bullying – Unwanted, demeaning behavior among students that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or is highly likely to be repeated, over time. To be considered bullying, the behavior must be intentional and include: Bullying can occur through verbal, physical, or written conduct or electronic communication that creates a hostile educational environment by substantially interfering with a student’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance, or with a student’s physical or psychological well-being
   1. An imbalance of power (students who bully use their physical, emotional, social or academic power to control, exclude, or harm others); and
   2. Repetition (bullying behaviors happen more than once or are highly likely to be repeated based on evidence gathered).
3. Cyberbullying – Bullying that takes place over digital devices like cellular phones, computers, tablets, or other electronic communication. Cyberbullying can occur through texting, apps, or online via social media, forums, or gaming, where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or hurtful content about another student. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else, causing embarrassment or humiliation. Communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, tablet, or Smart Watch.
4. Delinquent Act – An act committed by a person under age 18 that would be considered a crime if committed by an adult.
5. Harassment – Includes actual or perceived negative actions that offend, ridicule, or demean another student with regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, family/parental or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, physical or mental ability, or disability.
6. Imminent danger, serious physical harm - Has the same meaning as serious bodily injury as used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (see 34 C.F.R § 300.530(h)(i)(3); 18 U.S.C. § 1365(h)(3). It means bodily injury which involves:
   1. A substantial risk of death;
   2. Extreme physical pain;
   3. Protracted and obvious disfigurement; or
   4. Protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
7. Intimidation – Any communication or action directed against another student that threatens or induces a sense of fear and/or inferiority. Retaliation maybe considered a form of intimidation.
8. Retaliation – An act of reprisal or getting back at a person who reports acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation; or who are targeted students, witnesses, bystanders, or others with reliable information about acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
9. School Administrator – Refers to any individual assigned to a school who is responsible for the supervision, leadership, and management of school operations. This includes Principals, Assistant Principals, and other designated school-based leaders who have authority to implement district policies, make administrative decisions, and ensure the effective operation of instructional and student support programs.
10. School property - Any property owned or leased by PGCPS or used by PGCPS for school-related and/or school-sponsored activities. The concept of school property extends to school activities such as field trips, use of parks and recreation facilities, and school buses, etc. For the purposes of this policy, facilities scheduled by the school system for students’ use are considered an extension of school property.
11. School-sponsored activity - Any activity that is sponsored, approved, conducted, planned, and /or supervised by PGCPS employees, regardless of the location of the activity or whether the activity is or is not held during the instructional day.
12. Student Advocate – Refers to staff who are responsible for intervention services for the school’s most at-risk populations.  They build positive and productive relationships with students and leverage those relationships to fully engage students in the learning environment.
13. Targeted student – A student who has been bullied, harassed, or intimidated
14. Title IX Coordinator – PGCPS – Manages all PGCPS Title IX compliance efforts. Ensures the prompt, fair, and impartial handling of all complaints alleging sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, and coordinates training and preventive measures.

V. Procedures

1. Reporting of Allegations of Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation
   1. Reports of bullying, harassment, or intimidation incidents between students.
      1. All reports of incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation that occur  between students on school property, at a school-sponsored activity on or off school property, on a school bus, or through electronic communication on or off school property are to be submitted digitally via the Online Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation Reporting Application. All staff, parents/guardians, volunteers and contractors who have reason to suspect that a student has been subjected to bullying, harassment, or intimidation, shall submit a report. Additionally, any student who has observed another student being bullied or has been or is being bullied by another student is encouraged to submit a report. Submission of a report may be made via a web link; enter stopbullying.pgcps.org into any internet browser or visit the Apple App Store or Android Google Play Store using the search terms "PGCPS iStopbullying" to download to your mobile device.
      2. Reports must be promptly and appropriately investigated by the school administrator/designee, consistent with due process rights, using the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form within two (2) school days after receipt of a report. (See Attachment 1)
   2. Reports of students being bullied, harassed, or intimidated by an employee
      1. Allegations of students being bullied, harassed, or intimidated by an employee are to be addressed by the Office of Equity Assurance per Administrative Procedure 4170.
      2. Any employee who receives an allegation, including verbally, or discrimination and/or harassment from or about a student should obtain the basic facts of the incident(s) alleged, but must not conduct any further investigation.
      3. The information must be forwarded to the Office of Equity Assurance within one (1) day of receipt via Administrative Procedure 4170, Appendix A.
      4. The Discrimination or Harassment Incident Report form should be signed by the individual submitting the form and submitted to the Office of Equity Assurance.
2. Reporting of Sexual Harassment Allegations
   1. Any parent/guardian, school employee, or volunteer who receives a report by a student alleging sexual harassment should obtain the basic facts of the incident(s) alleged and complete the Online Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation Reporting Application. However, the school administrator/designee must not conduct any further investigation without direction from the Title IX Coordinator.
   2. Once the Online Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation Reporting Application is submitted for sexual harassment allegations, the Title IX coordinator will be immediately notified via an automated message.
   3. Upon receipt of the complaint of sexual harassment allegations, the Title IX Coordinator will begin the implementation of Administrative Procedure 0104, Title IX, Discrimination and Harassment on the Basis of Sex. 
   4. PGCPS’ Title IX Coordinator manages PGCPS’ response to reports or complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and dating violence and oversees PGCPS’ compliance with Title IX:
      Darnell L. Henderson, Acting IX Coordinator
      Phone: 301-952-6156
      E-mail: equity@pgcps.org
      Mail: 14201 School Lane, Room 201F, Upper Marlboro, MD  20772
3. Investigation of Alleged Incidents
   1. All allegations of bullying, harassment or intimidation must be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the school principal or their designee.  Professional school Counselors should not be selected as the principal’s designee. The investigation must be documented using the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form and include all notes or communication logs related to the specific incident.
   2. The following actions are to take place to allow the school administrator/ designee to determine the appropriate course of action to address the behavior. The school administrator/designee will determine whether bullying, harassment, or intimidation occurred by taking the following steps:
      1. Meet individually with the targeted student, the alleged offender, and any witnesses to gather information regarding the allegation.
      2. Notify all parties involved in the incident that retaliation against a targeted student, witness, or bystander is strictly prohibited.
      3. Document findings and all notes taken during the student interviews, parent contacts, and information gathered from other witnesses, and attach the notes to the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form.
      4. Indicate findings on the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form to include whether or not the allegation was substantiated as bullying, harassment, or intimidation or not substantiated as bullying, harassment, or intimidation. If the incident is not substantiated, the reason(s) must be noted on the form.
      5. Notify the parents/guardians of the targeted student and alleged offender of the outcome of the investigation once the investigation has been completed. The notification must respect the confidentiality of the targeted student and the alleged offender. Therefore, specific information related to any disciplinary consequences will not be provided.
      6. Notify the Safety and Security Counselor or School Resource Officer Immediately if the bullying, harassment, or intimidation creates imminent danger or qualifies as a delinquent act.
      7. Log the incident into the student information system, indicating the outcome of the incident and the actions taken to investigate the allegations.
      8. Submit an electronic copy of the completed Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form to the Department of Student Services within five (5) school days.  Copies of the electronic forms will be kept on file for at least ten (10) years in a password-protected folder.
      9. Copies of the forms MUST be maintained in the Principal’s confidential file for five (5) years.  These forms are not to be filed in the student’s cumulative folder or limited access folder (LAF).
4. Parental Notification
   1. The school administrator/designee will immediately notify the parent/guardian of the targeted student and the parent/guardian of the alleged offender of the incident.
      1. The parent/guardian of the targeted student will be informed of the specific steps that the school will take to intervene, interrupt and monitor the behaviors.
      2. The parent/guardian of the alleged offender will be informed of the specific steps that the school will take to intervene, interrupt, and monitor the behaviors as well as the proposed consequences, as stipulated in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
      3. The parent/guardian of the targeted student may be invited to participate in the development of an intervention plan for their child.
      4. The parent/guardian of the alleged offender may be invited to participate in the development of an intervention plan for their child
      5. Each parent/guardian will be provided with a copy of the intervention plan developed for their child
      6. Upon request, the parent/guardian of the targeted student and the parent/guardian of the alleged offender may review or receive a copy of the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form. However, personally identifiable information pertaining to other students must be redacted prior to the parent/guardian’s review or receipt of a copy. (See Administrative Procedure 5125).
5. Follow-Up Actions by the School Administrator/Designee
   1. Separate conferences for the targeted student and the alleged offender will occur within ten (10) school days after the investigation has concluded to ensure that the bullying, harassment, or intimidation has ceased, and to determine whether there is a need for additional intervention. Individual conferences may occur as part of the counseling intervention
   2. A second conference will be held with the targeted student four (4) weeks after the initial conference to ensure that the bullying, harassment, or intimidation has ceased.
6. Central Support for Parents and School Administrators
   1. In instances where the bullying, harassment, or intimidation incident is unresolved, and/or the parent/guardian is not satisfied with the investigation, support may be requested by the school or parent/guardian from the Department of Student Services.
   2. Support may include, but not limited to, the following:
      1. Independent review of the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form;
      2. Interview of parties involved in data collection and disposition;
      3. Review of disciplinary action under the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook related to the incident(s);
      4. Consultation with the parent/guardian of either or both of the involved students and school-based personnel on alternative strategies and supports; and
      5. Consultation with other involved offices regarding findings and recommended actions.
   3. The Department of Student Services will work with the school to ensure that the incident is investigated and that the resolution is appropriate. The Department of Student Services may amend the findings and recommendations of the school pursuant to the review.
7. Prevention
   1. All schools will implement procedures to prevent and reduce acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
      1. Annual professional development for administrators and all staff to:
         1. ) inform staff about this Administrative Procedure and the availability of the On-line Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Application;
         2. ) to increase awareness of the prevalence, causes, and consequences of bullying;
         3. ) to increase the use of evidence-based strategies for preventing bullying; and
         4. ) to provide teachers with classroom techniques to prevent and handle bullying in the classroom.
      2. Schools will inform students and parents/guardians that bullying, harassment, or intimidation, including any demeaning or derogatory treatment of others based on race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socio-economic status, familial status, or physical or mental ability or disability, will not be condoned.
      3. Parents/guardians will be informed about the availability of the Online Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Application through appropriate school communication (i.e., school website, parent newsletters, student handbook, etc.).
      4. Schools will inform students about the availability and use of the Online Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Application and its use during orientation sessions during the first week of school.
      5. A link to the Online Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Application will be available on the PGCPS website.
      6. Schools are required to conduct developmentally appropriate prevention activities, such as:
         1. ) Providing training to all students on behaviors that constitute bullying, harassment and intimidation.
         2. ) Holding regular classroom meetings with students to discuss safety concerns.
         3. ) Clarifying and reinforcing classroom rules against bullying, harassment, or intimidation and associated consequences according to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
         4. ) Conducting regular classroom lessons on social emotional learning that builds student capacity for developing healthy peer relationships, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision making.
         5. ) Conducting classroom lessons on sensitivity and tolerance, including those based on a person’s age, ability (cognitive, social emotional, and physical), ethnicity/race, family structure, language, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity and expression, ancestry, physical attributes, and socio-economic status.
         6. ) Forming an Anti-Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Committee to assess the nature and prevalence of bullying at the school.
         7. ) Celebrating the annual Bullying Prevention Month in October.
         8. ) Conducting grade level focus groups or a school-wide survey to identify problem areas in the building and the level of bullying, harassment, or intimidation within the school.
         9. ) Developing and implementing a school-wide bullying, harassment, or intimidation prevention plan. The initial copy of this electronic plan is due annually by September 1 to the Department of Student Services. At the end of each semester, schools will need to provide artifacts to support the activities in the plan and address their impact on the overall safety of students. The first semester submission is due annually by January 30, and the second semester submission is due annually by June 20. Plans will remain on file for three (3) years.
         10. ) Collaborating with families and the community to inform parents about the prevalence, causes, and consequences of bullying, including its central role as a public health hazard, and the means of preventing it.
8. Interventions
   1. Schools must provide intervention and support to targeted students and student offenders to address acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. These interventions may include, but are not limited to, the following actions:
      1. Parent/student conferences;
      2. Counseling with the Professional School Counselor, School Psychologist, Pupil Personnel Worker, Professional School Nurse, Student Advocate, and/or other appropriate professional staff;
      3. Behavioral contracts;
      4. Positive behavioral supports, such as functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention plans, etc.;
      5. Support counseling for the targeted student with protection from retaliation and further episodes of bullying;
      6. Support counseling for the offender student specific to the motivation of the bullying, harassment, or intimidation. Support for the offender student may include, but is not limited to, teaching or re-teaching replacement behaviors, empathy, tolerance, support circles, and sensitivity to diversity;
      7. Support counseling for bystanders;
      8. Increased adult supervision during unstructured times (i.e., classroom changes, lunch, recess, etc.);
      9. Social skills training, including role playing and behavioral rehearsal;
      10. Schedule adjustment;
      11. Development of a plan of support for the targeted student and student offender; and
      12. Utilize community health and mental health resources for those students who are unable to stop bullying behaviors in spite of school interventions and for those students involved in bullying behaviors as targeted students or witnesses whose mental or physical health, safety, or academic performance has been impacted.
   2. The response/intervention must be documented in the student information system.
9. Consequences
   1. Consequences and support strategies for student committing acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation, who are engaged in reprisal or retaliation, or who report false accusations shall be consistently and fairly applied after appropriate investigation has determined that such an offense has occurred.  A range of consequences is contained in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
   2. Schools should avoid using exclusionary discipline measures when addressing bullying, harassment or intimidation behavior and such measures should only be used after all other available and appropriate behavioral interventions have been exhausted or if a student’s continued presence in school would pose a threat to the safety of others.
   3. Suspensions, expulsions, or protective orders must not be viewed as punishments designed to prevent bullying. Instead, these are means of protecting the targeted student by providing community containment, while positive behavioral discipline is implemented.
   4. Consequences should also include recognition for positive behavior exhibited by the student who has previously exhibited bullying behavior, the targeted student who is implementing strategies to offset past problems, and the bystander who has taken an active role in addressing bullying behaviors.
10. Students Who Have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan
    1. When a student with an IEP or 504 Plan is either the targeted student or the alleged offender student, the student’s team (IEP or 504) shall be notified by the school principal or their designee.
    2. When a student with a disability is the targeted student of bullying, harassment, or intimidation:
       1. The IEP/504 team must convene within three (3) school days of the reporting of the incident to determine whether the student’s needs have changed as a result of the incident.
       2. The parent/guardian must provide consent for the IEP/5040 team to convene an expedited meeting prior to the required ten (10) school day notification period for IEPs and the required five (5) school day notification period for 504s. If consent is not given, the IEP/504 team will schedule the meeting after the ten (10) school day period or five (5) school day period, respectively, at a mutually agreeable time. A final decision will not be made until after the meeting takes place.
       3. The team will assess whether the bullying has impacted the student’s ability to access their Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and revise the plan or services accordingly.
       4. The team may consider additional supports, services, or placement changes to ensure safety and access to learning.
    3. When a student with a disability is the alleged offender:
       1. The incident will be investigated under the same process used for all students with consideration of the student’s disability and behavior support needs.
       2. The IEP/504 team must convene within three (3) school days of the reporting other incident to review the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). If the student does not currently have a BIP, the team may seek permission from the student’s parent/guardian to conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) to determine if a BIP is warranted.
    4. The IEP/504 team shall  exercise caution when considering a change in the placement or the location of services provided to the student and should keep the student in the current placement unless the student can no longer receive FAPE in the current least restrictive environment (LRE) placement.
    5. In all cases involving a student with an IEP, the documented prior written notice must be given to the parent/guardian prior to the implementation of any changes. Students with disabilities are subject to the same disciplinary procedures as their nondisabled peers, except to the extent that those procedures conflict with federal disability laws.

VI. Monitoring and Compliance

1. The school administrator/designee is responsible for thoroughly investigating and documenting all allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation reported to the school.
2. The school administrator/designee shall provide all Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Forms to the Department of Student Services via the BHI Google Investigation form. The Department of Student Services is responsible for preparing the Superintendent’s annual report that is required by Board Policy 5143.
3. The Department of Student Services shall maintain copies of completed Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Forms and Investigative Notes for at least ten (10) years.
4. The Department of Student Services shall maintain electronic copies of each school-wide bullying, harassment, or intimidation prevention plan for three (3) years and will provide school principals with written feedback within one (1) month of its submission.
5. The school administrator/designee shall maintain records of annual in-service training to all school-based staff on procedures to prevent, identify, report, and investigate allegations of bullying, harassment, or intimidation for five (5) years.
6. The Department of Student Services must provide annual training to school administrators/designees on appropriate guidelines for reporting, investigating, and documenting all reports of bullying, harassment, or intimidation.
7. PGCPS’s Title IX Coordinator manages PGCPS’s response to reports or complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and dating violence and oversees PGCPS’s compliance with Title IX:
   Darnell Henderson, Acting Title IX Coordinator
   Phone: 301-952-6156
   E-mail: equity@pgcps.org
   Mail: 14201 School Lane, Room 201F, Upper Marlboro, MD  20772

VII. Related Administrative Procedures

Administrative Procedure 0104 – Title IX, Discrimination and Harassment on the Basis of Sex

Administrative Procedure 0700 – Information Technology Services Acceptable Usage Guidelines

Administrative Procedure 4170 – Discrimination and Harassment

Administrative Procedure 10101 – Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook

VIII. Legal Reference

MD. CODE ANN., EDUC. §§ 7-424 – 7-424.1

IX. Maintenance and Update of This Administrative Procedure

This administrative procedure originates with the Department of Student Services. Regular updating of this administrative procedure will be accomplished, as needed.

X. History

July 1, 2009 (Revised)
March 26, 2012 (Revised)
July 1, 20213 (Revised)
October 27, 2017 (Revised)
October 12, 2020 (Revised)
August 12, 2021 (Revised)
February 11, 2022 (Revised)
July 1, 2024 (Revised)
April 7, 2026 (Revised)

XI. Effective Date

April 7, 2026

Documents

• Administrative Procedure 5143 - Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation.pdf
• Administrative Procedure 5143 Attachment 1 - Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School Investigation Form (Google form for Principal/Designee Use only)