TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As a new school year approaches, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is reminding students and parents that it takes bullying seriously — both in person and online.
TUSD says it is important for parents to monitor their child's involvement on social media, cell phones and other electronics. Anna Warmbrand, the district's director of student relations, says because TUSD has a strict phone policy, the majority of cyberbullying issues stem from what happens on students' own devices at home or when they are not at school — but the impact is what TUSD deals with on campus.
"So in our Code of Conduct, we have bullying and misuse of technology as two different violations and so if you're using your cell phone incorrectly on campus, that is a level 2 violation. You could be in school suspended. If however you are using that device to bully other students that is a level 3 violation. That carries with an out of school suspension," Warmbrand said.
She says depending on what the nature of that concern is brought to their attention, certain protocols will be engaged.
"So if the nature of that concern involves anything in the sexual harassment, sexual assault areas, things of that nature, then we have a Title IX protocol through employee relations that we initiate before we issue disciplinary consequences," violation. That carries with an out of school suspension," Warmbrand explained.
"If the nature of it is not sexual in nature, then the principal will do an investigation even though it didn't occur on their campus and do a thorough investigation and then make a determination for consequence. And if it's a first offense, you can be suspended out up to three days."
The rule applies to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Warmbrand says cyberbullying investigations tend to take longer because accessing devices is not easy.
"It's harder because those are not our devices so we can't track them as specifically. We need parent permission. We need to take kids' phones. Sometimes we have to have law enforcement go in and do an investigation," Warmbrand said.
Social media adds another layer of difficulty.
"It's easily erasable and kids will be very strategic when they're cyberbullying to ensure that they don't get caught and leave a footprint, and that's one of the most difficult situations," Warmbrand said.
If a child is being cyberbullied, Warmbrand advises parents to screenshot the content on their phone as evidence before it disappears. TUSD has resources available for victims.
"We have wonderful social workers and we have wonderful counselors that are here on our TUSD campuses," Warmbrand said. "We also have restorative practice facilitators at 10 of our highest needs sites who will work in that space to conduct mediation with those students, both the victim and the offender, if the victim feels ready to do so."
All bullying incidents are tracked through TUSD's Synergy system.
"I will say by and large, our disciplinary violations have decreased here in TUSD over the past two years," Warmbrand said.
The Tucson Police Department has also shared reminders for students and families on how to handle cyberbullying:
"We want this to be a really safe and positive year, and we want kids to feel safe that they can come forward if they are being bullied," Warmbrand said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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