The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) joins all Kansas schools in observing Oct. 7-11, the first full week of October, as Kansas Anti-Bullying Week, part of National Bullying Prevention Month.

This is an opportunity to create awareness and address the harm that bullying creates. It’s also a time to recognize the responsibility to safeguard schools to ensure physically safe and emotionally secure environments for all Kansas students and school staff.  

Bullying is defined as aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength, typically repeated over time. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending themselves. Bullying can take many forms: 

• Physical bullying (hitting, punching, etc.) 
• Verbal bullying (teasing, name-calling, etc.) 
• Nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying (intimidation using gestures, social exclusion, etc.) 
• Cyberbullying (sending insulting messages, etc.) 

Data collected during a 2023-2024 Kansas Communities That Care survey said 59% of respondents reported seeing someone being bullied during the past 12 months, while 32.3% of students reported they had been bullied in the past 12 months. 

A proclamation signed in 2011 by members of the Kansas State Board of Education and Kansas Senate stated, “It is important that we acknowledge and heighten awareness about the serious issues and the negative effects of bullying, including creating a climate of fear among students, inhibiting the ability to learn and contributing to other anti-social behavior. Bullying is a communitywide issues and students, parents and educators all have a role in addressing bullying situations and changing school culture.” 

The following are just some of the many resources KSDE offers to support this effort: 

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Training 

This training is required annually for students and staff. For videos, PDFs and more, click here. 

Bullying Prevention Kit for Parents and Caring Adults 

This bullying prevention kit, made by bullying intervention consultant Rachel Weinstock, is a step-by-step guide for parents/caregivers to end the bullying abuse their child may be going through. 

To access the toolkit, click here. 

Kansas Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies 

To see which Kansas state laws and regulations cover bullying, how bullying/cyberbullying is defined in the laws and regulations, and more, click here. 

See Something? Say Something! 

KSDE has partnered with the Office of the Attorney General, the Jason Foundation, Kansas Highway Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation to make school safer for everyone. 

• If you see suspicious activity, file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) with the KBI at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar. The SAR does not take the place of calling 911 in an immediate emergency. Rather, it is intended for students, staff, parents and community members to report suspicious activity. 
• If you come across threats of school violence, contact the Kansas School Safety Hotline at 1-877-626-8203. 
• The Office of the Attorney General and the Jason Foundation developed a free mobile app called “Kansas-A Friend AsKS”. The app connects youth to tools and resources to help a friend, or themselves, who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. The app also offers the option for users to call or text 9-8-8, the state mental health crisis line launched in July. 

For a full list of resources on bullying prevention in Kansas and how you can keep our schools safe, visit: Bullying Prevention (ksde.org). For questions, contact Kent Reed at kreed@ksde.org or (785) 296-8109, or Trish Backman at tbackman@ksde.org or (785) 296-6937.