State and local lawmakers have taken action to prevent bullying and protect children. Each jurisdiction—including all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (state)—addresses bullying differently. Some have established laws, policies, and regulations. Others have developed model policies schools and local educational agencies (districts) can use as they develop their own local laws, policies, and regulations.

Most state laws, policies, and regulations require districts and schools to implement a bullying policy and procedures to investigate and respond to bullying when it occurs. A handful of states also require bullying prevention programs, inclusion of bullying prevention in health education standards, and teacher professional development. These state laws generally do not prescribe specific consequences for kids who engage in bullying behavior, and very few classify bullying as a criminal offense. Further, states may address bullying, cyberbullying, and related behaviors in a single law (statute) or in multiple laws (education code, criminal code). In some states, bullying laws are included in the sections of the criminal code that apply to juveniles.

Although no federal law directly addresses bullying, in some cases, bullying overlaps with discriminatory harassment when it is based on race, national origin, color, sex, age, disability, or religion. When bullying and harassment overlap, federally-funded schools (including colleges and universities) have an obligation to resolve the harassment. When the situation is not adequately resolved, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division may be able to help.

In Florida, bullying is addressed through a combination of state statutes and local policies. The Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act (Florida Statute 1006.147) mandates that all public K-12 educational institutions adopt anti-bullying policies, which must include provisions for reporting and investigating incidents of bullying and harassment. The law also requires that these policies include a process for providing instruction to students, parents, teachers, and school administrators on identifying, preventing, and responding to bullying. Florida's anti-bullying laws cover cyberbullying and require that the anti-bullying policy be integrated into a school's code of conduct. While Florida's statutes do not typically criminalize bullying behavior, they do require schools to take action to prevent and address it. At the federal level, while there is no specific law that directly targets bullying, instances of bullying may fall under federal anti-discrimination laws if the behavior is based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, or disability. In such cases, schools receiving federal funding are required to address the discriminatory harassment, and federal agencies may intervene if the issue is not properly resolved.