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Educational Issues: How to Work with Your School District

February 19, 2025
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FAQs about bullying

You have an absolute right to seek assistance from and to file a complaint with your school if you have been the victim of bullying by other students or school staff.

Bullying is defined by the state as " … unwanted and aggressive behavior among children in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.” In addition, the law provides that bullying constitutes “challenging behavior” which means “behavior that negatively impacts school climate or interferes, or is at risk of interfering, with the learning, safety of a student or the safety of a school employee.”

If you believe that you've been subjected to this kind of behavior, you have several options.

  1. First – you can report it to any faculty, staff or employee of the school. You can do this verbally (by telling a school employee directly), or you can send a written email to any employee of the school (including the principal, assistant principal or teacher) and describe in specific detail the behavior by the other student(s) or staff. The reason why an email in writing may be better is that it documents in writing your complaints and when you initiated your complaint. Check on your school district’s website to see if they have a bullying complaint form or an on-line portal for you to use to report bullying. 
  2. Second – you can tell someone at school (an employee or staff member) that you do not feel safe. This informal report requires that staff person to follow up with an appropriate person in the school who should reach out to you to follow up on your conversation with the staff member.
  3. Third – you can ask your parent or guardian to help you make a complaint. You parent or guardian can then fill out a complaint (by using the school district’s form, sending an email, or calling). 

Yes. If you request that your complaint be kept anonymous, the school must do so to the extent that is possible.

After a school (or individuals at a school district) receive a complaint from a student or a parent, the school must do the following things:

  • Investigate the report. The school is required to have a “Safe School Climate Specialist” who is responsible for starting the investigation.
  • Protect you from any harm. After you start a complaint, the Safe School Climate Specialist must immediately take whatever steps are necessary to protect you from any further harm or harassment.
  • Schedule a meeting to address the bullying complaint once the investigation is completed. This meeting usually includes both you, your parents or guardians, and the individuals(s) whom you identified as those responsible for the aggressive, unwanted or challenging behaviors. 
  • Develop a plan to address the bullying and to put an end to the conduct of those individuals responsible for the behaviors. 

You have the right to contact the person at the school district who is identified as the District’s “Safe School Climate Coordinator”. You should be able to find this person on the school district’s website.

You have the right to notify and file a complaint with the state Department of Education’s Office of Student Supports and Organizational Effectiveness. You can find contact information for this office here.

If the electronic harassment was initiated or posted by an individual whom you know from school, then you have the right to notify school personnel in the same way as you would if the harassment or conduct occurred in school. If the electronic bullying was made by a person who does not go to school with you, then you should notify the appropriate law enforcement official (town police or resident State Police officer) in your town. If the harassment or bullying is so severe that it immediately threatens your life, safety or health (or the life, safety or health of your family), call 9-1-1.

You may consult with a lawyer to assist you with bullying or harassment issues. Lawyers may charge a fee for this type of assistance, so please make sure to ask if you are being charged for any assistance you might receive from a lawyer or a law firm. Usually you can ask a lawyer to help you with two types of issues.

  1. First – you can ask a lawyer to assist you with a bullying complaint. If you cannot afford to pay an attorney, you can contact a non-profit legal services or legal aid agency. For a listing of legal aid/legal services agencies, please go here, or call 2-1-1. 
  2. Second – if you believe you’ve been harmed or suffered injury from a bullying or harassment incident at school, you can contact a private attorney/law firm that specializes in personal injury law. 

The anti-bullying law referred to above does not apply to students enrolled in Connecticut’s private or religious schools. However, most private schools have policies and procedures that address school bullying in a similar fashion. Reach out to the school’s counselor, nurse or an administrator whom you trust and seek help from that person.

 
 

FAQs Transgender/Gender Diverse Students’ Rights in School 

General Overview:

All students who attend public school in Connecticut are protected from discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of “ … gender identity or expression …”1 In addition, a powerful federal law, called Title IX, prohibits schools from treating students in a discriminatory fashion based on their gender identity or expression.

 

 

What are my school’s obligations under both state and federal laws to ensure that I am not discriminated against because of my gender identity?

School districts have a number of obligations to ensure that students who choose to use a certain name or express their gender identity in the school setting are treated fairly and are free from discrimination.  Let’s take them one at a time.

 

Connecticut law provides that gender-related identity can be established in various ways. Some ways (but not all) that can be done are:

  • Medical history
  • Care and treatment of gender-related identity
  • Consistent and regular statements (by you) of your identity
  • Any other evidence that you are stating your identity for genuine purposes (and not for an improper purpose). 

You are NOT required to consistently and uniformly assert or express a particular identity. However – consistency and uniformity in gender identity is one way of demonstrating gender identity for purposes of school recognition.

No. In addition, notice from a parent or guardian is not required in order for a school to recognize your gender identity or expression.

Unfortunately, Connecticut and federal law are not as forceful in obligating school districts to comply with requests by students who request to be called by their name or pronoun(s) of choice. However, both federal and state guidance urge school districts to honor students name choices, and indicate that repeated failure to do so might be discriminatory in violation of both federal and state law for discrimination. You should check with your school district (or go to the school district website) to see what the district’s policy is on gender identity, pronouns, and Title IX compliance. To learn more about how federal law forbids such discrimination under Title IX, please go here.

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. It is absolutely clear that there is no legal requirement that a parent’s permission is not necessary for a school to recognize you gender identity or expression. On the other hand, there is no law that specifically prohibits a school district from notifying a parent your choice of gender identity or expression.

The Connecticut State Department of Education has published a 14 page guide on working with transgender or gender-diverse students, which you can find here.  Unfortunately, this guidance, published in January 2024, does not answer the important question raised above (can the school tell my parent/guardian). Schools are urged to take into account a student’s emotional and physical well-being when deciding whether to inform a parent/guardian of a student’s choice of gender identity. Remember, if you are a student under the age of 18 who has a special education plan or a “504 Plan”, a parent/guardian must be involved in the planning, meeting and consent process, so please be aware that your choice of gender-identity or expression might be revealed in such a meeting. Once you turn 18, your parents are no longer required to participate in such planning and meetings, unless you would like them to continue to do so. 

All school districts are in the process of developing policies on protecting and promoting transgender and gender-diverse students, so keep checking with your school and the school district’s website to determine whether those policies have been released and published. Some school districts have already committed to protecting gender-identity, but most school districts have not yet done so.

Finally, remember that even if a school is reluctant to honor your request to keep your choice of gender identity confidential and shares that information with your parent/guardian, under no circumstances can they do so in a discriminatory manner, or in a way that seeks to punish or embarrass you for your gender-identity or expression. In that case, you should immediately seek assistance from the district’s Title IX coordinator, or by contacting the state Department of Education’s Title IX office, which you can find here.

 

You can request a name change on your school record only if you are 18 years of age or older. If you are a student under 18 years of age, your parent/guardian must request a name change with the school district. Public school records are governed by a federal law called FERPA, which does not allow students under 18 to modify, change or view school records with a parent or guardian’s permission. Remember, changing your name on official school records is not the same thing are requesting that a school honor your request for a name change to be honored on a daily basis by staff and teachers.

If you are under 18 and your parents support your name change, or if you are 18 or older, it is very important for you to seek a legal name change at the same time – as it will be important as you proceed in your educational career (or other future plans) to make sure your name is consistent in all legal documents. 

Under both federal law (Title IX) and state law, you must be allowed to access restrooms and locker rooms (even if identified as single-sex) that correspond to your gender identity, regardless of what other students, parents or staff may say.

Yes. If you request the use of a private bathroom or changing room to use, you should be provided with one by the school. These private bathrooms/changing rooms should be as close as possible to the facilities that the other students are using, and should not be located in another building or on a different floor. In addition, you cannot be required to use a private bathroom or changing room if you choose not to use one.

Yes. The school must allow you to wear clothing consistent with your gender identity or expression, and you can wear clothing that is appropriate for students with the same gender identity. If your school has a dress code, you are still required to comply with the dress code but in a manner consistent with your gender identity or expression.

Yes. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) issued a policy in 2018 that requires schools to permit students to participate on interscholastic sports teams that are consistent with your gender identity or expression. However, the policy indicates that once a student chooses to participate as an interscholastic athlete on teams that are consistent with gender identity or expression, that choice should not be changed during the student’s high school athletic career. If you would like to read the policy, or learn more about the CIAC’s reasoning behind the policy, please go here. 

No. All of the protections discussed so far apply only to students enrolled in a Connecticut public school system. However, students in private schools are protected against certain type of discrimination (for example, racial discrimination or discrimination on the basis of disability). Most private schools have policies against all types of discrimination – you should check with your school counselor or read the school policy manual to find the anti-discrimination policies).

 

[1] See Conn. General Stat. sec. 10-15c(a) which you can find here. 

 

 
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