Our Stories: Schools

Every Texas student should be able to obtain an education free from physical and mental harm.

Equality Texas supports legislation prohibiting any form of harassment or bullying in Texas schools, including but not limited to harassment or bullying based on race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical appearance of the student or the student's parent(s).

Equality Texas supports legislation to provide teachers with the training they need to address and stop acts of harassment and bullying in order to protect their students.

The goal of Our Stories: Schools is to educate the public about: (i) the frequency of harassment and bullying in Texas schools, (ii) the lack of uniform codes of conduct in school districts across the state, and (iii) the lack of training for teachers and administrators to effectively address and stop harassment and bullying.

Overview:

Texas law does NOT identify or address any of the characteristics most often cited as the object of school harassment or bullying.  Texas law does NOT establish a uniform state school conduct policy.  Texas law does NOT provide for monitoring or enforcement of independent school district policies.     

Calling You to Action:

Your story can help shape public policy in Texas.

• Does your, or your child's, school district (please identify) have a formalized code of conduct prohibiting harassment and bullying?
• If no, please let us know. The Texas Education Code was amended in 2005 to require school districts to establish a student code of conduct.
• If yes, does the code of conduct prohibit harassment and bullying based on physical appearance?  on sexual orientation?  on gender identity?
• Do teachers receive any training on identifying and stopping prohibited acts of harassment and bullying?
• Do school administrators, including the principal, enforce the code of conduct to prohibit harassment and bullying?
• Have you, or your child, ever experienced harassment or bullying in school?
• If yes, how was the matter resolved?  How were you, or your child, affected personally?
• You may type freely in the text box below, or cut and paste from an MS Word document.  Maximum of 3,300 characters.

Read Equality Texas Policy Statement