A plain-English guide to Texas’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: Texas 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.
Texas's bullying law includes 12 of 14 key elements, which Lantern rates strong. Cyberbullying can also be a crime under Texas law. State law lets schools discipline students for cyberbullying. School phones: statewide ban (HB 1481, June 20, 2025). Texas also has 6 online-safety laws for minors, including App Store Accountability Act, SB 2420, VTCA, Bus. & C. Section 121.001 et seq..
Sources last checked: StopBullying.gov summary reviewed June 4, 2026 · school phone rules checked November 11, 2026 · online-safety tracker updated July 24, 2026.
Lantern · State profile
Strong state protections · 12 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 Statewide phone restriction
- Online safety laws for minors 6 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.
- 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 Texas’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: not 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 Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations?
Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations include the following definitions of bullying and cyberbullying:
“Bullying”:
- means a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct that satisfies the applicability requirements provided by Subsection (a-1), and that:has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or of damage to the student’s property;is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student;materially and substantially disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a classroom or school; orinfringes on the rights of the victim at school; and
- includes cyberbullying.
“Cyberbullying” means bullying that is done through the use of any electronic communication device, including through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a computer, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, a social media application, an Internet website, or any other Internet-based communication tool.
Tex. Educ. Code § 37.0832 (2017)
Do Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations cover cyberbullying that occurs off-campus?
Yes. Texas anti-bullying laws cover off-campus conduct that occurs off school property or outside of a school-sponsored or school-related activity if the cyberbullying:
- interferes with a student’s educational opportunities; or
- substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related activity.
What are the policy requirements for schools to prevent and respond to bullying behavior?
Texas school districts are required to adopt a policy concerning bullying. School district policies must contain key policy and procedural elements, including, but not limited to:
- Statements prohibiting bullying and retaliation;
- Procedures for notifying parents or guardians of the alleged victim and the alleged bully;
- Statements regarding actions a student should take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;
- Statements regarding the available counseling options for a student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in bullying;
- Procedures for reporting and investigations;
- Provisions related to disciplining of students with disabilities; and
- Requirements for how the district policy will be publicized within the district.
Minimum standards for a school district’s policy must:
- Include an emphasis on bullying prevention by focusing school climate and building healthy relationships between students and staff;
- Establish a committee to address bullying by focusing on prevention, health and wellness;
- Require student instruction on building relationships and preventing bullying and cyberbullying;
- Include an emphasis on increasing student reporting of bullying incidents; including anonymous reporting
- Require districts to collect student survey data and use the results to develop action plans and address student concerns
- Require districts to develop a method to assess bullying incidents and determine the district’s response to the incident
Do Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations include protections for specific groups?
No. There are no specific groups listed under Texas anti-bullying laws or regulations.
Texas 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 Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to implement bullying prevention programs or strategies?
Yes. Texas anti-bullying laws require school districts to adopt a health curriculum that includes evidence-based practices that will effectively address awareness, prevention, identification, self-defense in response to, and resolution of and intervention in bullying and harassment. Texas anti-bullying laws also require school district policies to include an emphasis on bullying prevention by focusing on school climate and building healthy relationships between students and staff.
Do Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to train teachers and other school staff on how to respond to bullying incidents?
Yes. Texas anti-bullying laws require district staff development programs to include training on preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents.
Do Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to provide safeguards or mental health supports for students involved with bullying?
Yes. Texas school district policies must establish the actions a student should take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying and must set out the available counseling options for a student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in bullying. Texas anti-bullying laws also allow for a student who is the victim of bullying to be transferred to another classroom or school campus.
Do Texas anti-bullying laws and regulations involve parents in efforts to address bullying behavior?
Yes. Texas school district policies must establish a procedure for providing notice of an incident of bullying to the parents or guardians of the alleged victim and the parents or guardians of the alleged bully within a specified timeframe.
Answers from StopBullying.gov, last reviewed June 4, 2026.
School phone and device rules
Statewide ban. Most recent statewide action: HB 1481, June 20, 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.
- App Store Accountability Act, SB 2420, VTCA, Bus. & C. Section 121.001 et seq.
In effect: January 1, 2026 · Status: blocked in court (in part or whole) - Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, Texas Bus. & Com. Section 509.001 et seq.
In effect: September 1, 2024 Partial preliminary injunction issued: August 30, 2024, enjoining §§ 509 · Status: blocked in court (in part or whole) - Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, Texas Bus. & Com. Code Annotated Section 541.001 et seq.
In effect: July 1, 2024 - Liability for Allowing Minors to Access Pornographic Material, H.B. 1181; Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 129B
In effect: September 1, 2023 Note: injunction lifted November 2023 - Liability Related to Sexual Material Harmful to Minors, H.B. 581; Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Section 129B
In effect: September 1, 2025 - Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, Texas Bus. & Com. Section 509.057
In effect: September 1, 2024 · Status: blocked in court (in part or whole)
Source: Orrick Online Safety Law Tracker, updated July 24, 2026.
Legal citations, explained (21)
Each entry shows what the law or rule is about first, then its official name with abbreviations spelled out.
- Staff development requirements Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 21.451 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 21.451
- Transfer of students who are victims of or have engaged in bullying Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 25.0342 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 25.0342
- Required curriculum Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 28.002 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 28.002
- School counselors; general duties Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 33.006 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 33.006
- Student code of conduct Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.001 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.001
- Placement or expulsion of students who have engaged in certain bullying behavior Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.0052 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.0052
- Discipline management policies; sexual harassment Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.083 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.083
- Bullying prevention policies and procedures Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.0832 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.0832
- Threat assessment and safe and supportive school program and team Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.115 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.115
- Disruptive activities Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.123 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.123
- Disruption of classes Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.124 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.124
- Definitions Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.151 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.151
- Personal hazing offense Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.152 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.152
- Organization hazing offense Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.153 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.153
- Consent Not a Defense Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.154 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.154
- Immunity from prosecution or civil liability available Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.155 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.155
- Offenses in addition to other penal provisions Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.156 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.156
- Reporting by Medical Authorities Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.157 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.157
- Community education relating to internet safety Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.217 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.217
- Programs on dangers of students sharing visual material depicting minor engaged in sexual contact Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.218 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 37.218
- Mental health promotion and intervention, substance abuse prevention and intervention, and suicide prevention Law passed by the legislature Texas Education Code Annotated Section 38.351 Read the text of Texas Education Code Annotated Section 38.351
Educational information, not legal advice. Laws change, so confirm with your district and state education department.
Find a school district in Texas
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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