Cincinnati District to Debut New Bullying Prevention Plan Next School Year

Cincinnati District to Debut New Bullying Prevention Plan Next School Year

Officials at Cincinnati Public Schools are debuting a new anti-bullying program that will begin next school year.

Officials at Cincinnati Public Schools are debuting a new anti-bullying program that will begin next school year. The anti-bullying measures, which include more counseling staff, come two years after an 8-year-old died by suicide after being bullied.

“We're not going to see a decrease in bullying and we're not going to see a decrease in our discipline incidents if we don't partner with our students and ask them how we can best support them through the process,” said Dr. Carrie Bunger, CPS Manager for Positive Culture & Safety.

Cincinnati Public Schools will add six more school counselors, more anti-bullying campaigns led by students and more parent and student notification about bullying in the 2019-2020 school year.

“Our ultimate goal is for our students to feel safe and that our parents feel heard and that there are consequences and interventions put in place when there's a substantiated case of bullying,” said Dr. Bunger.

According to parents and educators, bullying is happening more frequently due to social media.

The new anti-bullying plan came about two years after an 8-year-old student died by suicide after being bullied. Anti-bullying advocate and Bullyproof program founder Gabe Etter, who knows the late student’s family, hopes these new anti-bullying plans prevent any future pain.

"We can't catch everything, and CPS schools have been doing what they can and that's a beautiful thing that they're stepping up and doing this. It's going to save a lot of lives,” Etter said.

CPS has added a button to their district website that allows parents to report bullying online. The district is also working on an app that students could use to report bullying.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 2025 Secure Campus Award Winners Announced

    Campus Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 Secure Campus Award winners. Twenty companies are being recognized this year for products that help keep education and business campuses safe. Read Now

  • K-12 School Safety Trends Report Shows Training, Technology Are Saving Lives

    CENTEGIX, the industry leader and most widely adopted wearable safety technology provider for K-12 education, today released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, the only comprehensive and data-rich analysis of school safety available in the wearable panic button market. The report identifies and outlines the top tech and legislative movements relevant to school safety in the U.S. and draws on data collected in the 2024/2025 school year through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, including more than 265,000 incidents of CrisisAlert use. Read Now

  • Survey: Fewer Than 20 Percent of School Leaders Consider Their Main Entrance “Completely Secure”

    Singlewire Software, provider of solutions that help keep people safe and informed, releases the findings of its inaugural School Entrance Security Report, which captured responses from more than 500 school staff members across the United States. This research highlights the concerns and challenges schools are facing in securing their entrances and keeping students and staff safe from potential threats Read Now

  • Securing Higher Education: Combating Enrollment Fraud and Empowering Student Financial Success

    Higher education institutions are facing a costly and growing crisis: enrollment fraud. Between 2020 and 2022, the cost[1] of acquiring a new student surged by up to 32%, straining already tight budgets. At the same time, “ghost students” using stolen identities to enroll fraudulently put institutions at even greater financial risk. Read Now