Texas law provides a formal definition of bullying as being: “a single significant act or pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means…”

 

To be considered bullying, according to current Texas law the behavior must include:

 

 

Kids who bully use their power, whether it’s physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity, to control or harm others. These power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.

 

 

Bullying behavior, as of September 1st, 2017 is defined as a single significant act, or a pattern of acts.  Bullies target people picking on them, teasing them, or being physically aggressive online or offline.

 

Bullying isn’t narrow.

 

Often times people are too narrow about what their definition of bullying is. Many people have a rigid definition of what it means to be bullied, not realizing that it covers a bunch of different actions. Bullies can make threats, spread rumors, attack someone physically or verbally, and exclude someone from a group on purpose.

 

It’s also not always an extreme, it’s a scale, from less severe to extreme. It’s important that we recognize the different types of behavior so we’re better equipped at stopping it once we see it.

 

There are three types of bullying:

 

 This is when bullies say or write mean things to, or about, another person. It can include teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, taunting, or threatening to cause harm.

 

 Sometimes referred to as rational bullying. It happens when bullies hurt someone’s reputation or relationships. It can include leaving someone out on purpose, telling others not to be friends with a person, spreading rumors about a person, or embarrassing someone in public.

 

 

When one student hurts a person or their possessions, they’re physically bullying. It can include, hitting, kicking, and pinching, spitting, tripping or pushing, taking or breaking someone’s things, and making mean or rude hand gestures.