Bullying Prevention

Bullying & Harassment Prevention in LBUSD

Long Beach Unified School District believes that all students have a right to a safe, supportive and healthy school environment free from bullying and harassment. The district is committed to promote mutual respect, tolerance, and acceptance within our school system by implementing bullying prevention procedures that encourage students to be kind, respectful and supportive with one another. Anti-bullying and conflict resolution resources are provided and easily accessible to all students, staff and parents/caregivers. 

The State of California defines bullying as follows:  

"Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: 

1. Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to that pupil's or those pupils' person or property. 
2. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the pupil's physical or mental health. 
3. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial interference with the pupil's academic performance. 
4. Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial interference with the pupil's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. 

Bullying is unwanted, harassment, intimidation, a hazing or initiation activity, ridicule, extortion, or any other verbal, written, electronic communication, or physical conduct, repeated over time, that causes or threatens to cause bodily harm or emotional suffering, creates a hostile learning environment, or disrupts the normal operation of a school, classroom, or school related activity. The behavior is repeated over time. Bullying behavior includes: 

• An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people. 
• Repetition: Bullying behaviors are pervasive, that is , the bullying acts happen more than once over time. 
• Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, ridiculing and excluding someone from a group on purpose.