Guidance for Notifying Parents of a Bullying/Harassment Report and Outcome

SAMPLE SCRIPTS

1. Notify parents of all students involved as soon as possible after a report of

bullying and/or harassment has been received and an investigation of the incident
has been initiated.

2. Notifying parents of the alleged VICTIM of the Report of Bullying. Parents can
be notified by mail, email, documented phone call, or conference.

Sample script: “I am [writing, emailing, calling, meeting with] you today to let you
know that [name of student] has reported an incident of [bullying and/or
harassment]. I can assure you that we do not tolerate any form of bullying and the
matter is being investigated following the procedures in the ___________ County
School District Policy Prohibiting Bullying and Harassment. We will immediately
inform you of the outcome of the investigation once we have looked at all the facts.”

3. Notifying parents of the alleged VICTIM of the Investigation Outcome.

For Unsubstantiated Incidents, “I am [writing, emailing, calling, meeting with] you

today to let you know that we have completed a thorough investigation of the
bullying incident for [name of student] and it has been determined that the incident
did not meet the criteria to be an act of bullying/harassment, as defined in the state’s
statute and the district’s policy.

Our primary concern is that our students’ feel safe and secure at school, therefore,
even though the incident did not meet the criteria for bullying, we have provided and
will continue to provide interventions to ensure your child’s learning environment is
not affected. The following measures have been put into place:
EXAMPLES CAN BE:
 A safety plan for __________that names a person [he/she] can go to if they
believe they are being bullied or harassed.
 A directive for the accused to avoid contact with _______.
 Guidance Counselor will provide additional targeted bully prevention lessons
to students.
 Teacher will monitor structured recess.
 ___________ has been informed to tell an adult closest by if [he/she] needs
assistance.
 _________ has been informed to report a situation immediately when it
happens to the supervising adult.

Please inform us if any other incidents come to your attention and we will monitor
the situation here at school.”

For Substantiated Incidents: “I am [writing, emailing, calling, meeting with] you

today to let you know that we have completed a thorough investigation of the
 bullying incident for [name of student] and appropriate actions are being taken so
this type of incident does not happen again. For your child, the following actions
have been taken to ensure that they feel safe at school [share the steps in the safety
plan put in place for the student].

Please be assured that actions have been taken on the other student, but because
of student privacy laws, we cannot give details of these actions. We take all
incidents of bullying very seriously and comply with our policy and state statute so all
of our students be afforded an educational setting that is safe, secure, and free from
bullying and harassment of any kind.”

4. Notifying parents that their child is an alleged PERPETRATOR in a Report of

Bullying. Parents can be notified by mail, email, documented phone call, or
conference.

Sample script: “I am [writing, emailing, calling, meeting with] you today to let you
know that an incident of [bullying and/or harassment], which seems to have involved
[name of student] has been reported and we are in the process of investigating this
incident. The report has to do with __________[example threatening, teasing,
physical contact]. As soon as we collaborate the facts, we will contact you with
further information. “

5. Notifying parents of the alleged PERPETRTOR of the Investigation Outcome.

 For Unsubstantiated Incidents, let parents know that after the completion of the
investigation per the ___________ County School District Policy Prohibiting
Bullying and Harassment, the incident was unsubstantiated. Let parents know
that we are continuing to educate students about bullying to avoid
misunderstandings of what constitutes a bullying incident.

 For Substantiated Incidents, parents will need to be notified (by mail, email,
documented phone call, or conference) of consequences taken on their child for
committed acts of bullying.

Sample Script for notifying parents of substantiated incidents: “I am

[writing, emailing, calling, meeting with] you today to let you know that we have
completed a thorough investigation of the bullying incident alleged against [name
of student] and it has been determined that an incident of bullying met the criteria
of the ___________ County School District Policy Prohibiting Bullying and
Harassment. Bullying is a Student Code of Conduct Level III infraction with
appropriate consequences. For [name of student] the following actions are being
taken so this type of incident does not happen again. [List consequences and
any referral for counseling]. We appreciate your support in this matter. [If letter
or email, let parents know that if they have any specific questions, to please
contact you directly].”