If your child is facing harassment, intimidation and/or bullying by another student or staff member of the Kent School District please report this to school officials. The school will start an investigation and report to you their conclusions. If possible when reporting the bullying include any screenshots from social media or other online forums as evidence of the alleged bullying.

Depending on several factors the school may not be able to impose school discipline on the aggressor, however they will still assist attempting to address the problem. If the harassment rises to the level of a crime, law enforcement may be contacted.

If the harassment, intimidation and/or bullying is being done by a student in another district, an adult not affiliated with the school district and/or an unknown person(s) please report such incidents to your local law enforcement agency.

Most social media companies (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, YouTube, etc.) have a way to report unwanted and/or illegal posts. Please use this process to report harassment done using social media posts.

All instances of suspected HIB should be reported to the school’s principal or assistant principal. This can be done in person, over the phone, by email or by submitting the official HIB Reporting form to the school’s main office. 

A report of suspected HIB will start an investigation of the incident. The following takes place during an investigation: 

• Both parties (alleged target and alleged aggressor) will be interviewed. 
• A representative group of witnesses (identified by both alleged target and alleged aggressor) will be interviewed. 
• Any evidence available of the incident (video, social media posts, written notes, etc.) will be reviewed. 
• A review of any past incidents of conflict between the two parties involved will take place. 

After the investigation, the administrator will notify the parent/guardian of both the alleged target and alleged aggressor with the outcome of the investigation. The investigation could conclude: 

• This was an incident of HIB, the aggressor will face corrective action (discipline) according to Policy and Procedure 3241 and 3241P 
• This incident was not an incident of HIB (unfounded) however did violate a different school or district rule. The aggressor will face corrective action (discipline) according to Policy and Procedure 3241 and 3241P 
• The incident was “unfounded.” There was insufficient evidence to determine the incident occurred. Actions may still be needed however no discipline will occur.  

Note: The school is not allowed to discipline students for HIB that occurs outside of school that has no direct connection to events at school, however, the school will still help address the issue in an attempt to try to stop it from having a negative impact at school.

After the conclusion of the investigation, an emphasis will be placed on having all parties be able to successfully attend school together.

• A plan may be needed to identify what specific supports are needed.
• Mediation will sometimes take place if both students are agreeable.
• Steps to limit contact during school may be made.

Since every incident of HIB is different there is no one plan that works every time.

If your student is determined to be the aggressor in a HIB investigation, then regular school discipline appeals processes apply. Please review Policy and Procedure 3241 and 3241P for a complete guide. In most cases, this starts with an appeal directly to the school’s principal.  

If your student is the alleged target and it is determined this is an unfounded incident and you wish to appeal you would appeal this to the HIB Compliance Officer for the district, please contact (253) 373-7235. You may wish to have a conversation with the school principal first to get a better understanding of why it was unfounded and what steps they plan to take.    

Harassment, intimidation and/or bullying based on a protected class such as gender, race, religion, disability and/or sexual orientation will be thoroughly investigated under our Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure 3205 and 3205P or our Non-Discrimination Policy and Procedure 3210 and 3210P. If you feel this may be the case when making the report, please indicate to the school administrator that you believe the harassment may fall under one of these two categories.  

The complainant has the option of using an informal process for resolution of the harassment of a formal process. If the complainant starts with the informal process and the issue cannot be resolved, then at any point they can ask that it be moved to a formal process.  

If you suspect that your child is being bullied by a district staff member please follow the process outlined on this page to report the incident. Investigations of the report may be guided by HIB policy and procedure 3207/32071P and/or Complaints Regarding Employees policy and procedure 4312/4312P.

All Kent School Board policies and procedures are available on BoardDocs. 

• 3205 & 3205P: Sexual Harassment of Students Prohibited 
• 3207 & 3207P: Prohibition of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying 
• 3210 & 3210P: Nondiscrimination 
• 3211 & 3211P: Transgender Students
• 3241 & 3241P: Student Discipline

• Bullying Quiz: Determine if your child is a bully or is being bullied.
• StopBullying.org: Find resources and information on bullying, cyberbullying, and more.