A plain-English guide to Connecticut’s bullying and cyberbullying law, written for school counselors and other school staff. Start with the summary, then open any section below for the legal details.
Bottom line for counselors: Connecticut requires every school district to have a written bullying policy. The law covers cyberbullying, including off-campus behavior that affects school. Follow your district's reporting and investigation steps and keep careful notes.
Connecticut's bullying law includes 14 of 14 key elements, which Lantern rates comprehensive. Cyberbullying can also be a crime under Connecticut law. State law lets schools discipline students for cyberbullying. School phones: encourages districts to limit cellphones in classrooms (Personal Technology Use in Connecticut Schools: Impact of Social Media and the Use of Cell Phones on Student Learning and Mental Health, August 21, 2024). Connecticut also has 5 online-safety laws for minors, including Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections Act, Public Act No. 23-56 Section 7, Connecticut General Statutes Section 42-528.
Sources last checked: StopBullying.gov summary reviewed April 28, 2026 · school phone rules checked November 11, 2026 · online-safety tracker updated August 25, 2026.
Lantern · State profile
Comprehensive state protections · 14 of 14 key elements
- Covers cyberbullying Yes
- Reaches off-campus behavior Yes
- District policy required Yes
- Reporting & investigation rules Yes
- Staff training Yes
- Support for students involved Yes
- School phone rules State encourages limits
- Online safety laws for minors 5 on the books
What this means for counselors
- Your district is required to have a written bullying policy. Find it, and learn who in your building receives reports.
- State law sets expectations for reporting and investigating bullying. Follow your district's steps and timelines, and keep careful notes.
- Cyberbullying that happens off campus can be addressed when it affects school. Record how the online behavior reached or disrupted school.
- The law calls for support for students who are involved. That is core counseling work, for the student targeted and for the student who bullied.
- Staff training is part of state law. Ask when training happens and make sure it covers cyberbullying and social media.
- Prevention education is expected. Classroom lessons on digital citizenship and online empathy fit here.
- The law names protected groups. Bullying based on these characteristics may also be a civil rights issue for your school.
- Your state has laws on minors' online safety. They mostly regulate tech companies, but they are useful context when you talk with families.
What Connecticut’s bullying law includes
- Bans bullying outright: included
The law clearly states that bullying is not allowed. - Defines bullying: included
The law spells out what counts as bullying. - Says where the rules apply: included
The law describes where the rules apply, such as school grounds, buses, events, or online. - Names protected groups: included
The law lists characteristics, such as race or disability, that bullying often targets. - Districts must have a policy: included
Every school district has to adopt a written bullying policy. - Reporting and investigation rules: included
The law sets out how bullying is reported and investigated. - Consequences for bullying: included
The law describes consequences for students who bully. - Policy shared with families: included
Districts have to tell students, staff, and families about the policy. - Support for students involved: included
The law calls for protection or support, such as counseling, for students who are involved. - Policies reviewed and updated: included
District policies have to be reviewed and kept up to date. - Prevention education: included
The law requires or encourages bullying prevention lessons or programs. - Staff training: included
The law requires or encourages training for teachers and other staff. - Parent involvement: included
The law involves parents in preventing or responding to bullying.
Questions and answers about the law
How are bullying and cyberbullying defined in Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations?
Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations include the following definitions of bullying and cyberbullying:
“Bullying” means an act that is direct or indirect and severe, persistent or pervasive, which (A) causes physical or emotional harm to an individual, (B) places an individual in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm, or (C) infringes on the rights or opportunities of an individual at school. “Bullying” shall include, but need not be limited to, a written, oral or electronic communication or physical act or gesture based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic as defined by PA 19-166.
"Cyberbullying" means any act of bullying through the use of the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, cellular mobile telephone or other mobile electronic devices or any electronic communications.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222d (2019) [Repealed Effective July 1, 2025]
“Bullying” means unwanted and aggressive behavior among children in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222aa (2024)
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations cover cyberbullying that occurs off-campus?
Yes. Connecticut anti-bullying laws cover off-campus conduct outside of the school setting if such bullying (i) creates a hostile environment at school for the student against whom such bullying was directed, (ii) infringes on the rights of the student against whom such bullying was directed at school, or (iii) substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.
What are the policy requirements for schools to prevent and respond to bullying behavior?
Connecticut local and regional boards of education must develop and implement a safe school climate plan to address the existence of bullying in schools and must appoint a district safe school climate coordinator responsible for implementing the district's safe school climate plan. The principal or the principal's designee in each school must serve as the school climate specialist responsible for investigating reported acts of bullying and collecting and maintaining records of reports and investigations. Schools must establish a school climate committee responsible for developing and fostering a safe school climate and addressing issues of bullying. Safe school climate plans must contain key policy and procedural elements, including, but not limited to:
- Statements prohibiting bullying and statements of scope indicating where and when the policy applies;
- Procedures for reporting and investigations, including provisions for anonymous reporting and procedures for documenting and maintaining records;
- Prevention and intervention strategies;
- Procedures for parent notification and parent conferences with parents or guardians of students who commit verified acts of bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom such acts were directed;
- Procedures for documenting and maintaining records of reports and investigations;
- Procedures directing the development of case-by-case interventions for addressing repeated incidents of bullying and the development of student safety support plans detailing safety measures the school will take to protect students against further acts of bullying;
- Statements of consequences for violation of the policy in student codes of conduct;
- Requirements for law enforcement notification when acts of bullying may constitute criminal conduct; and
- Requirements regarding how the policy will be publicized within the district.
Connecticut state law requires districts to submit safe school climate plans to the Department of Education for review and approval. Schools must also complete and submit to the Department of Education an annual assessment using school climate assessment instruments and must report verified acts of bullying.
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations include protections for specific groups?
Yes. Connecticut anti-bullying laws prohibit bullying based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic as defined by PA 19-166.
Connecticut schools that receive federal funding are required by federal law to address discrimination based on certain personal characteristics. Find out when bullying may be a civil rights violation.
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to implement bullying prevention programs or strategies?
Yes. Connecticut school district safe school climate plans must incorporate a prevention and intervention strategy that may include, but is not limited to, implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports or other evidence-based model approaches, school rules prohibiting bullying, adult supervision of selected areas of school campuses, individual interventions with students involved in bullying incidents, school-wide school climate training, parent engagement strategies, and culturally-competent school-based curriculum.
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to train teachers and other school staff on how to respond to bullying incidents?
Yes. Connecticut school district safe school climate plans must include a requirement for all school employees to complete annual in-service training on the prevention, identification, and response to school bullying. Each local and regional board of education, in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Education, must provide training materials to school administrators regarding the prevention of and intervention in discrimination against and targeted harassment of students. Connecticut anti-bullying laws also require that any candidate in a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification complete a school violence, bullying, and suicide prevention and conflict resolution component.
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to provide safeguards or mental health supports for students involved with bullying?
Yes. Connecticut safe school climate plans must direct the development of case-by-case interventions, including counseling, for addressing repeated incidents of bullying, and must direct the development of student safety support plans that address safety measures the school will take to protect students against further acts of bullying. Connecticut safe school climate plans must also incorporate a prevention and intervention strategy that may include interventions with a bullied child, such as referrals to a school counselor, psychologist, or other appropriate social or mental health service, and periodic follow-up by the safe school climate specialist with the bullied child.
Do Connecticut anti-bullying laws and regulations involve parents in efforts to ad dress bullying behavior?
Yes. Connecticut schools must designate a committee in the school to be responsible for developing and fostering a safe school climate and addressing issues related to bullying in the school. The committee must include at least one parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school. Connecticut school district plans must include provisions to notify the parents or guardians of students who commit any verified acts of bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom such acts were directed. School districts must also invite the parents or guardians of a student against whom bullying was directed to a meeting to communicate the measures being taken by the school to ensure the safety of the student and that policies and procedures are in place to prevent further acts of bullying. School districts must also invite the parents or guardians of a student who commits any verified act of bullying to a meeting to discuss specific interventions undertaken by the school to prevent further acts of bullying. Prevention and intervention strategies may include the promotion of parent involvement in bullying prevention through individual or team participation in meetings, trainings, and individual interventions.
Answers from StopBullying.gov, last reviewed April 28, 2026.
School phone and device rules
Encourages districts to limit cellphones in classrooms. Most recent statewide action: Personal Technology Use in Connecticut Schools: Impact of Social Media and the Use of Cell Phones on Student Learning and Mental Health, August 21, 2024.
Source: Ballotpedia, checked November 11, 2026.
Online safety and social media laws for minors
These laws mostly place duties on apps, platforms, and websites, such as age checks, parental consent, or limits on addictive feeds. Several have been challenged in court.
- Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections Act, Public Act No. 23-56 Section 7, Connecticut General Statutes Section 42-528
In effect: July 1, 2024 - Online Services, Products or Features and Minors, Section 8-13, Connecticut General Statutes Section 42-529 – 529e
In effect: October 1, 2024 As amended by SB 1295, eff July 1, 2026 - SB 5, sections 39
In effect: January 1, 2028 - Connecticut Data Privacy Act, Connecticut General Statutes Section 42-515 et seq.
In effect: July 1, 2023 As amended by SB 1295, eff July 1, 2026 - SB 5, sections 4-6
In effect: January 1, 2027 Applies to: All users Minors < 18 (knows or has reason to believe)
Source: Orrick Online Safety Law Tracker, updated August 25, 2026.
Legal citations, explained (14)
Each entry shows what the law or rule is about first, then its official name with abbreviations spelled out.
- Specific components of teacher preparation programs Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-145a Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-145a
- Teacher education and mentoring program. Administration. Three-year plan. Instructional modules. Data system. Guidelines Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-145o Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-145o
- In-service training. Professional development and evaluation committees. Institutes for educators. Cooperating teacher program, regulations Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-220a Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-220a
- School climate. Definitions Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222aa Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222aa
- Safe school climate plans. Definitions. School climate assessments [Repealed effective July 1, 2025] Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222d Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222d
- Prevention and intervention strategy re bullying and teen dating violence Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222g Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222g
- Analysis of school districts' efforts re prevention of and response to bullying in schools. School climate assessment instruments Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222h Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222h
- State-wide safe school climate resource network Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222i Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222i
- Training re prevention, identification and response to school bullying, teen dating violence and youth suicide Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222j Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222j
- District safe school climate coordinator. Safe school climate specialist. Safe school climate committee Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222k Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222k
- Immunity of school employees, students, parents or guardians, individuals and boards of education from liability for certain actions relating to reporting, investigating and responding to school bullying and teen dating violence Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222l Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222l
- School security and safety plan standards Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222n Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222n
- Provision of training materials re prevention of and intervention in discrimination and harassment against students Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222s Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-222s
- Safe learning grant program Law passed by the legislature Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-263e Read the text of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-263e
Official Connecticut resources
Educational information, not legal advice. Laws change, so confirm with your district and state education department.
Find a school district in Connecticut
Search by ZIP code, select a district on the map, or look one up by name. Each district links to a search for its own bullying policy, since district rules can go further than state law.
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