A plain-English guide to Ohio’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: Ohio requires every school district to have a written bullying policy. The law covers cyberbullying but does not clearly reach off-campus behavior. Follow your district's reporting and investigation steps and keep careful notes.
Ohio's bullying law includes 12 of 14 key elements, which Lantern rates strong. Cyberbullying can also be a crime under Ohio law. State law lets schools discipline students for cyberbullying. School phones: statewide ban (HB 96, July 1, 2025). Ohio also has an online-safety law for minors: the Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act, Ohio Revised Code Section 1349.09(B)(1).
Sources last checked: StopBullying.gov summary reviewed May 11, 2026 · school phone rules checked November 11, 2026 · online-safety tracker updated June 29, 2026.
Lantern · State profile
Strong state protections · 12 of 14 key elements
- Covers cyberbullying Yes
- Reaches off-campus behavior No
- District policy required Yes
- Reporting & investigation rules Yes
- Staff training Yes
- Support for students involved Yes
- School phone rules Statewide phone restriction
- Online safety laws for minors 1 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.
- State law does not clearly extend to off-campus cyberbullying. Your district policy may still apply, so check it and talk with your administrator.
- 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.
- Your state limits student phone use at school. Know your school's phone rules so responses to online incidents are consistent.
- Your state has laws on minors' online safety. They mostly regulate tech companies, but they are useful context when you talk with families.
What Ohio’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: not 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 Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations?
Ohio anti-bullying laws include the following definitions of harassment, intimidation, and bullying:
“Harassment, intimidation, or bullying” means either of the following:
(a) Any intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both:
(i) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student;
(ii) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.
(b) Violence within a dating relationship.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3313.666 (2012)
Do Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations cover cyberbullying that occurs off-campus?
No. Ohio anti-bullying laws do not cover off-campus conduct.
What are the policy requirements for schools to prevent and respond to bullying behavior?
Ohio school districts must establish a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. School district policies must contain key policy and procedural elements, including, but not limited to:
- Statements prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying and statements of scope indicating where and when the policy applies;
- Definitions of prohibited behavior that are inclusive of definitions in state law;
- Procedures for reporting, investigations, and documentation;
- Strategies for protecting a victim or other person from harassment, intimidation, or bullying or from retaliation following a report;
- Disciplinary consequences for violation of the policy;
- Statements prohibiting students from making false reports;
- Statements of how the policy will be publicized within the district; and
- Requirements that districts provide a written summary of all report incidents and post the summary on the district website.
Ohio state school district audits include a review of whether a school district has adopted a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying.
Do Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations include protections for specific groups?
No. There are no specific groups listed under Ohio anti-bullying laws or regulations.
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 Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to implement bullying prevention programs or strategies?
Yes. Ohio anti-bullying laws encourage districts to form bullying prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives involving volunteers, parents, law enforcement, and community members. Ohio school districts must also report to the state Department of Education the types of prevention-focused programs, services, and supports used to assist students in developing the knowledge and skills to engage in healthy behaviors and decision-making and to increase their awareness of risky behaviors, including substance abuse, suicide, bullying, and other harmful behaviors.
Do Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to train teachers and other school staff on how to respond to bullying incidents?
Yes. Ohio anti-bullying laws require each board of education to incorporate training on the board’s harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy into in-service training programs. Ohio anti-bullying laws also require districts to provide training, workshops, or courses on the district’s harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy to school employees and volunteers who have direct contact with students and who are not subject to other in-service training requirements, to the extent that state or federal funds are appropriated for these purposes.
Do Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to provide safeguards or mental health supports for students involved with bullying?
Yes. Ohio anti-bullying laws require districts to develop policies that include strategies for protecting a victim or other person from new or additional harassment, intimidation, or bullying and from retaliation following a report.
Do Ohio anti-bullying laws and regulations involve parents in efforts to address bullying behavior?
Yes. Ohio anti-bullying laws require districts to develop policies in consultation with parents, school employees, school volunteers, students, and community members. Ohio school district policies must include a requirement that the custodial parent or guardian of any student involved in a prohibited incident be notified and be given access to any written reports pertaining to the prohibited incident to the extent permitted by state and federal law.
Answers from StopBullying.gov, last reviewed May 11, 2026.
School phone and device rules
Statewide ban. Most recent statewide action: HB 96, July 1, 2025.
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.
- The Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act, Ohio Revised Code Section 1349.09(B)(1)
In effect: October 3, 2023 · Status: permanently blocked
Source: Orrick Online Safety Law Tracker, updated June 29, 2026.
Legal citations, explained (10)
Each entry shows what the law or rule is about first, then its official name with abbreviations spelled out.
- School Bullying Prevention and Awareness Act Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 5.2296 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 5.2296
- Audit statement regarding adoption of anti-harassment policy Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 117.53 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 117.53
- Hazing civil liability Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2307.44 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2307.44
- Hazing Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2903.31 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2903.31
- Model harassment prevention policy Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3301.22 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3301.22
- Reporting on prevention-focused programs Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.6024 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.6024
- District policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying required Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.666 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.666
- District bullying prevention initiatives Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.667 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3313.667
- In-service training in child abuse prevention programs, school safety and violence prevention, and training on the board's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3319.073 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 3319.073
- “Stop Bullying” license plates Law passed by the legislature Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 4503.723 Read the text of Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 4503.723
Educational information, not legal advice. Laws change, so confirm with your district and state education department.
Find a school district in Ohio
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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