Is it Bullying or Peer Conflict?

Many parents, students, and educators sometimes label any type of aggression or disagreement between students as bullying behavior.  Fighting, losing a game and arguing about it, one student not wanting to play with another student are just a few examples of behaviors that can often be misidentified as bullying.  Depending on the circumstances, it can become difficult to determine what actions are bullying behaviors.  To better understand the difference between bullying and peer conflict, consider that bullying tends to be more about arrogance, control, and power. It can best be summed up as feeling that “I am better than you and I have a right to treat you this way.”  While all bullying is mean, not all mean behavior is bullying.  

The resources in each section will provide:

• Information about bullying prevention and intervention and cyber-safety
• Definitions of bullying, peer conflict, and harassment
• Reporting procedures for bullying allegations

For questions regarding reporting bullying, you may contact your student's campus administrator or the Department of Student Affairs at StudentAffairsBullying@fortbendisd.gov or (281) 327-2829.