As a parent in Virginia who cares deeply about school safety (and has studied school violence since before Columbine), I’ve noticed something concerning. When kids come home with bruises, black eyes, injuries from being tripped, pushed into walls, hit, or worse, too often it gets labeled simply as “bullying.” While bullying is a serious issue that schools must address, physical assault is something different--and it’s a crime. Virginia law defines bullying as aggressive, unwanted behavior intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate, usually involving a power imbalance and repeated over time (or causing severe emotional trauma). It does not include ordinary teasing or conflict. But when it crosses into punching, stabbing, tripping to cause injury, or other harmful physical contact? That’s assault and battery under Virginia law.
Calling clear physical violence “bullying” downplays the harm to our children and can let schools treat it as a minor discipline issue instead of what it is: a criminal act. Media and schools sometimes blur this line too, which leaves many parents unaware of their rights and options.
Why does this matter? Bullying policies focus on school interventions (counseling, suspensions, etc.).
Physical assault gives parents stronger tools: involving law enforcement, pressing charges if appropriate, and holding everyone accountable for student safety.
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