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How do I report race-based harassment at school to civil rights?

Use the free tool — Bullying Report Letter FL

What Florida law requires

Under the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act, every Florida school district must have a policy that prohibits bullying and harassment — including cyberbullying — of any student. The district must let you report an incident, including anonymously, must investigate it, must notify the parents of the student who was targeted and the parents of the student accused, and must refer both to counseling. Districts also report incidents in the state's SESIR system. See Fla. Stat. 1006.147 and the Florida Department of Education's model bullying policy.

State law does not set one exact number of days for the investigation. Your district's own policy sets the timeline. Ask the school for the written policy so you know what to expect.

When it becomes a civil-rights matter

If the harassment is based on race, color, or national origin — along with sex, disability, or religion — it can also be reported to the federal Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, separate from the school's own bullying process. That office takes complaints, and its process describes a 180-day deadline. See OCR's complaint process.

What to put in your written report

Whether you send it to the school, the district, or OCR, a clear written report should include:

• Your child's name, grade, and school.
• Each incident: date, time, place, who did what, exact words if you know them, and any witnesses, including staff.
• Evidence you have — screenshots, photos, medical visits.
• Any prior reports you already made, with dates and who you told.
• How it has affected your child — attendance, sleep, health, grades.
• What you are asking for: an investigation under the district's bullying policy, written notice of the outcome, a safety plan (separation in classes, lunch, or the bus, supervision at the places named), a counseling referral, and preservation of any video.
• A request to meet, with a date.

Keep the tone factual. Do not accuse the other family or demand a specific punishment — describe what happened and what you need.

Who to send it to, and what happens next

Send the report to the principal (or whoever the policy names) and copy the district's bullying-prevention or student-services contact. Send it by email and keep a dated paper copy too. Ask for the SESIR incident number, and ask for the district's written policy if you haven't already.

If nothing happens: the escalation ladder

• Principal, first.
• Then the district's student-services office or area superintendent.
• Then the school board — public comment, or the superintendent's office.
• Then the Florida Department of Education's Office of Safe Schools.
• For bias-based harassment specifically, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, within its 180-day window — see OCR's complaint process.

If there is a credible threat of violence, call the school and the police right away. For cyberbullying, preserve screenshots with dates and URLs and report to the platform; Florida's cyberstalking statute may apply to threats — mention it to the school resource officer.

Safety, and other options

If your child talks about hurting themselves, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) today, and tell the pediatrician and school counselor right away — before anything else. See 988lifeline.org.

A student who reports being bullied or harassed at a Florida public school may also be eligible for the Hope Scholarship — a transfer to another public school, or a scholarship to a private school. See Fla. Stat. 1002.40. This is an option to consider, not a required step. For general guidance on steps and documentation, see StopBullying.gov.

What to do next

Describe what happened — what, where, who, how often, and what you've already told the school. The free tool reads your own description and puts it into the written report the district's policy needs: the incidents, the evidence, your requests, who to send it to, and what should happen next. This is not legal advice and can be wrong. Confirm the procedure with your district and, for a civil-rights complaint, with the Office for Civil Rights.

Bullying Report Letter FL explains Florida's anti-bullying law and district procedures in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. District policies differ. For a civil-rights or safety matter, contact an attorney, the Office for Civil Rights, or law enforcement. Nothing you paste is stored.