New Guidelines for Reporting Bullying in Schools
School leaders are required to report cases of bullying to law enforcement and child welfare services.
Failure to report such cases may lead to administrative liability, as stated by the educational ombudsman, Nadia Leshchik.
She explained that school and preschool directors must respond to verbal or written reports of violence or abuse against children. The law sets a timeline for this – one day after receiving a complaint.
If a school leader detects signs of bullying, they must promptly inform the child's parents or guardians and also submit a written report to the police and child welfare services.
Nadia Leshchik emphasized that such reporting is an essential step in holding perpetrators and their parents (in cases involving students) accountable. Following such a report, police may open a case, and the court will later determine whether the child was indeed bullied.
“Not every report from a school leader may pertain specifically to bullying; sometimes it may involve a single incident of violence, but it cannot be ignored – it is still abuse, and it is up to the police to decide if there are grounds for initiating criminal proceedings or an administrative offense report.
Determining how to classify child abuse at the moment of receiving such a report is the police's responsibility, not that of the educational institution's leader,” explained the educational ombudsman.
According to her, directors or committees reviewing bullying cases in schools do not have the authority to conclude whether a child has truly been bullied, but they can identify signs of mistreatment to include in their report to the police and make decisions regarding further actions within the educational institution.
If a school director fails to report to the police, they may face administrative liability under Part 5 of Article 173-4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. In this case, the leader could be subjected to a fine (ranging from 425 to 850 hryvnias) or corrective labor for up to one month with a deduction of up to 20% of their salary.
Judicial practice shows that offenders are most often fined.
Reports to the office of the educational ombudsman indicate that some leaders do not inform law enforcement because they fear damage to the institution's reputation or that the situation might become public.
Moreover, directors mistakenly believe that they should contact the police only after a special committee reviews the bullying report.
“However, ignoring such situations does not resolve the issue but only exacerbates it and leads to negative consequences for all participants in the educational process, including the institution's leader,” believes Nadia Leshchik.
Previously, the Ministry of Education and Science established a mechanism for quick reporting of bullying in schools. For this, a student or their parents can fill out a short questionnaire and submit a complaint electronically.
