Jefferson County Public Schools treats bullying as a school discipline and safety problem under its 2026 to 2027 Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook. Kentucky law separately forces schools to call law enforcement for a short list of serious acts. Ordinary bullying, by itself, is not on that mandatory list.
This is not legal advice.
What the handbook calls bullying
The 2026 to 2027 Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook uses Kentucky’s statutory definition. The Jefferson County Board of Education approved it on May 12, 2026, as part of the consent calendar in Order 2026 77, according to the May 12, 2026 board minutes posted on the board's KSBA portal, consent item W.
Under KRS 158.148, bullying means any unwanted verbal, physical, or social behavior among students that involves a real or perceived power imbalance and is repeated or has the potential to be repeated. It has to happen on school premises, on school sponsored transportation, or at a school sponsored event, or it has to disrupt the education process. The handbook adds that cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology.
The handbook cites Board Policy 09.422, Bullying/Hazing, next to that definition. The same handbook also defines harassment and harassing communications under KRS 525.070 and KRS 525.080. Those are separate codes from bullying, even when the facts feel similar to a parent.
How parents are told to report
Start at the school, not at a police desk, if the concern is bullying under the handbook.
Page 11 of the 2026 to 2027 handbook tells parents, guardians, peers, or students to:
Notify the classroom teacher first.
Contact the school counselor if more support is needed.
Escalate to the school administrator if the concern stays unresolved.
Use the district’s online reporting system through the JCPS Compliance Hotline on the district website.
Call the JCPS Hotline at 1 888 393 6780.
The handbook says all bullying reports, whether they go to school staff or through the Compliance Hotline, are investigated, documented, and resolved at the school level under district protocols. Schools also have to notify the district of ongoing bullying concerns using the reporting procedures listed there.
Every JCPS school also has to keep a School Based Decision Making Bullying Prevention Policy that includes cyberbullying. That school policy is reviewed annually, according to the same handbook page.
Off campus or after hours bullying can still be reported to the Compliance Hotline. The handbook says those incidents fall outside school disciplinary action, will not create Infinite Campus discipline documentation, and still trigger school contact with the families involved.
The Kentucky law list
KRS 158.155 is the mandatory report statute. It does not say “bullying.”
As amended, with an effective date of July 15, 2026, the statute requires a school employee who knows or has reasonable cause to believe certain things to report immediately to a board created law enforcement agency, a local law enforcement agency, or the Department of Kentucky State Police. The triggers include threats or plans of violence aimed at a school or students, a firearm on school property in violation of state law, and acts on school property or at a school sponsored or sanctioned event involving:
Intentional physical injury, or an intentional attempt to cause physical injury, of a school employee
Intentional assault resulting in serious physical injury
A sexual offense
Kidnapping
Assault with a weapon
Possession of a firearm or deadly weapon in violation of the law
Use, possession, or sale of a controlled substance in violation of the law
Intentional or wanton damage to property causing a loss of $500 or more
The 2026 to 2027 handbook marks many of those same behaviors with an asterisk on the Behavior Codes charts and repeats the line that, per KRS 158.155, schools shall immediately report the incident to law enforcement. Assault codes, terroristic threatening, sexual offenses, weapons, and many drug codes carry that treatment. Bullying/Cyberbullying does not carry that asterisk on the Pre K through grade three, grades 4 through 5, or grades 6 through 12 charts.
Separately, the handbook’s Criminal Violations section says that when a student violates a law, school administrators may notify the appropriate law enforcement official. That “may” language is broader than the mandatory KRS 158.155 list. The handbook does not turn every fight or every bullying complaint into an automatic police report.
The fighting definition on page 28 describes physical violence between students and lets administrators use professional judgment when an investigation shows a clear aggressor. It does not say when a fight becomes a law enforcement report. For terroristic threatening, the handbook says a threat assessment should be conducted. The handbook does not publish how schools decide the discretionary "may" calls to police, so those decisions are left to school judgment.
Younger students
Preschool through grade three sit under a tighter exclusionary discipline rule.
The handbook says that, unless state law requires it, JCPS does not suspend students in preschool through grade three. If an incident at that grade band involves a law violation marked with an asterisk, the school performs a Threat Assessment. If a suspension is still warranted, the principal must request approval from the regional assistant superintendent. Kentucky’s suspension statute, KRS 158.150, also says suspension of primary students should be considered only in exceptional cases involving safety for the child or others.
On the Behavior Codes charts, Bullying/Cyberbullying is listed at Level 2 for Pre K through grade three, and at Levels 2 through 4 for grades 4 through 5 and grades 6 through 12. Level 4 behaviors, as a class, always bring administrative action, possible notification of law enforcement, and immediate removal from school, according to the progressive consequences pages.
The informal send home
Out of school suspension means the student is not permitted to attend school for full or partial day(s) after due process. Students sent home early because of an incident should be documented as a partial day suspension. Parents are notified by letter or by a parent phone call or text message. Minutes out of school are accrued and reported to the state.
The Letter definition says every attempt should be made to contact parents or guardians by phone on the same day as the behavior event. A formal letter can still follow by mail or electronically.
What to ask the school
Use the school reporting ladder if the concern is bullying under the handbook. Ask whether the school coded the incident as bullying, harassment, fighting, assault, or another Behavior Code, and ask whether any KRS 158.155 report was made. If your child was sent home, ask in writing whether that day was recorded as a partial day suspension. Keep copies.