Community Education

Long-awaited report identifies gaps in how Peninsula schools respond to harassment, intimidation and bullying

Posted on April 24th, 2025 By: Christina T Henry

After a year of research, focus groups, surveys and data analysis, Peninsula School District’s efforts to stem the tide of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) are a work in progress.

This, according to a report presented to the school board Tuesday by Chief of Schools Michael Farmer and other top officials.

Superintendent Krestin Bahr last year commissioned the report in response to a steady flow of complaints from students, parents and community members that the district wasn’t doing enough to prevent bullying, hate speech and discrimination.

Farmer and his team highlighted discriminatory harassment and cyberbullying as problems requiring special attention.

More work to do

The district has made some changes over the past year, including updating policies, introducing a new platform for reporting incidents, and launching of a web page for parents and community members with information and resources on HIB.

In one instance, district leaders made a swift and public response to reports of racist behavior, signaling a shifting culture.

When a Gig Harbor fan made a “racially charged reference” at a basketball game against Lincoln High, the district gave a public apology and followed up by bringing together students from both schools with reportedly positive results.

The HIB report indicates, however, that the district’s work is just beginning.

The report identified “gaps” in the district’s system for responding to harassment, intimidation and bullying. Farmer outlined future steps, including potentially adopting practices utilized in other districts that are a step ahead in addressing HIB.

Tapping the ‘student voice’

Farmer and members of a review team interviewed 57 students, parents and staff. Separately, Bahr held student advisory symposiums with representatives from the district’s three high schools.

AI analyzed survey responses from students for trends.

“The students shared that they really recognize what we’re trying to do and trying to make school a better place, but they said it just doesn’t quite hit the mark,” Farmer said.

Racial, homophobic incidents increase

The team analyzed data on HIB reports and student discipline.

In the 2018-19 school year, nearly 48% of HIB reports involved physical threats. Physical threats declined over the past three years (post-COVID) at 22%, 32% and nearly 26%, respectively. Verbal threats increased over that time from nearly 46% of HIB reports in 2018-19 to 72% in 2023-24.

Reports of harassment, intimidation and bullying are increasingly less physical and more verbal since students returned to school following the COVID-19 shutdowns.

Nearly 30% of HIB reports in 2023-24 were incidents related to race, ethnicity or nationality. That was an increase from nearly 12% in 2022-23 and 8% in 2021-22.

The use of homophobic slurs has increased, occurring in around 12% to 14% of incidents in the past three school years. The percentage in 2018-19 was 6.25%.

Data suggest that discipline in Peninsula schools may be handed out unevenly based on race. Farmer said additional tracking and response is warranted.

Reports of racist and homophobic slurs increased starting in the 2021-22 school year.

Calling out discrimination

Assistant Chief of Schools Julie Schultz-Bartlett, hired last summer along with Farmer, headed up a Bullying Action and Prevention Task Force that included community members, administrators, school counselors and a school security officer. Part of the task force’s mandate was to research best practices.

Schultz Bartlett said the group identified a gap in how the district addresses discriminatory harassment, specifically targeting others for their race, national origin, gender or gender identity. The district needs to express consistent expectations and promote empathy, she said.

“It’s really around the fact that discriminatory harassment has to do with learning that everyone gets to exist, and they get to be who they are, and you get to be who you are,” she said. “We don’t get to harass each other based on our identity. That is best addressed through development of empathy and through explicit policies that prevent and address it.”

Farmer said Peninsula has adopted a “no tolerance” stance on hate speech but that they might look to other districts, like Vancouver, which has a “hate and bias” protocol, as models.

Cyberbullying, ‘like a megaphone’

Schultz-Bartlett and others discussed the thorny issue of cyberbullying, where a single taunt or threat can live on and potentially be viewed or shared by hundreds.

“It’s like a megaphone,” Schultz-Bartlett said.

Getting social media companies to remove posts is nearly impossible, Farmer said.

The district’s HIB policies and procedures mention cyberbullying. But officials are looking at model stand-alone policies, such as South Kitsap has, to provide additional guidance to students, staff and families, Farmer said.

New reporting and data collection

Shelby Morng, a paralegal and the district’s new HIB compliance officer, has updated HIB policies and procedures that were out of date to bring them in line with state and other model policies.

Morng’s work included editing terms that were vague or wonky with an aim to be more parent-friendly. The policies also needed greater clarity on staff responsibilities and the rights of complainants, the HIB team found.

Morng helped implement Navigate 360, the district’s new internal platform for logging incident reports, including HIB. Inconsistent coding of incidents has been a problem for the district. They’re working on that. Better data going forward will help inform future strategies to create a safe learning environment, Morng said.

The district has partnered with the state Attorney General’s Office, linking to HearMeWA, where anyone can report threats or assaults (anonymously if they choose). Reports made to the state’s hotline can be merged with Nav360, Morng said. Reports are triaged. Life-threatening situations are reported to law enforcement.

The district’s new HIB webpage explains how to report various kinds of threats or concerns, and it includes links to HearMeWA. The webpage explains how to make an appeal if you disagree with how the district handles an incident report.

Key findings

Here are some other key findings and recommendations from the report:

The district uses evidence-based programs with students to prevent harassment, intimidation and bullying, but inconsistent implementation limits their impact.

Racist and homophobic slurs are a growing concern. Staff responses vary widely, and clearer district expectations are needed.

Students want stronger relationships with staff and more visible support in and out of the classroom to foster inclusive school environments.

Many HIB incidents occur or begin online as cyber-bullying.

Building principals and assistant principals need to use a consistent approach to receiving, triaging and managing HIB complaints.

The district should connect with Bellevue and Snoqualmie school districts for models on reporting protocol.

The district should support proactive education of staff and students about identity, non-violent conflict resolution, social-emotional learning skills, and acceptance.

The district should continue to invest in culturally responsive teaching and other training for staff.

The district should clearly define staff roles related to HIB and establish a cross-departmental triage team.

The district should connect with Bellevue and Vancouver school districts on HIB prevention programs.

The district should take a clear stance on all bullying, including racially charged and homophobic bullying.

The district should make cyberbullying and online harassment awareness prevention a component of HIB prevention programs.

PSD’s livestream of the April 22 board meeting at which administrators presented the HIB report. Discussion of the report starts around the 1 hour, 21 minute mark.

Read the full report here.