By Sarah DeMaranville
Geneseo Community Unit School District #228 documented 24 bullying-related reports during the 2024–2025 school year, according to records submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education. Twenty-one of those reports were ultimately recorded as verified allegations.
The reports, obtained through district records, provide a snapshot of where bullying complaints occurred, the types of allegations involved, and how the district documented investigations and parent notification requirements.
While the reporting forms do not describe individual incidents or measure the overall climate within the schools, they offer a closer look at how bullying complaints are handled locally.
Illinois law requires every public school district to maintain a bullying prevention policy, investigate reports, and establish procedures for reporting incidents. Geneseo Community Unit School District #228 implements those requirements through Board Policy 7:180, which outlines how reports are investigated, how families are notified, and what interventions may be used.
District Superintendent Dr. Laura Delgado said creating a safe learning environment remains one of the district's highest priorities:
"In the Geneseo School District, it is our absolute priority to ensure every student feels safe, respected, and valued at school. Bullying is an issue that every school district in America faces to some degree, and ours is no exception. In our schools, we take every report of bullying seriously and are committed to addressing concerns promptly, fairly, and with compassion. A shared goal among our staff, students, families, and community is to provide learning environments that foster a sense of community, safety, and care. Creating that kind of culture requires all of us working together, and it remains one of our highest priorities."
Here's a closer look at what the district's records show, what Illinois law requires, and what parents should know.
What do Geneseo's records show?
For the 2024–2025 school year, district records document 24 reported bullying-related incidents. Of those reports, 13 occurred at Geneseo Middle School, six at Millikin Elementary School, five at Geneseo High School, and none at Northside or Southwest Elementary Schools.
The district's reporting forms also categorize the types of allegations associated with each report. Thirteen reports did not identify a protected-category allegation. Among those that did, the most commonly reported allegation involved sexual harassment (five reports), followed by race, color, or national origin (three), retaliation (two), disability (one), and sex or gender (one). No reports listed religion as the alleged basis.
District records further indicate that 21 of the 24 reports were verified allegations. None were identified as cyber-related. Seventeen reports were marked as adhering to district bullying policy, and 15 documented parent notification within 24 hours.
What is bullying under Illinois law?
Illinois law defines bullying as severe or pervasive physical or verbal conduct—including written or electronic communications—that can reasonably be expected to:
Place a student in reasonable fear of harm.
Cause a substantially detrimental effect on a student's physical or mental health.
Substantially interfere with academic performance.
Substantially interfere with a student's ability to participate in or benefit from school services or activities.
The definition includes cyberbullying, meaning behavior through text messages, email, social media, online gaming, websites, blogs, or other electronic communication.
Illinois law also allows schools to address certain off-campus conduct if it substantially disrupts the educational process or orderly operation of a school. Importantly, the law does not require school employees to monitor students' personal devices or social media. Instead, administrators may investigate after receiving a report.
What does Geneseo's policy say?
Board Policy 7:180 prohibits bullying, intimidation, harassment, and hazing and encourages students, parents, volunteers, and staff members to report suspected incidents. Reports may be made verbally or in writing to administrators or any trusted staff member. Anonymous reports are accepted, although the policy notes anonymous reports alone cannot serve as the sole basis for formal disciplinary action.
Parent notification within 24 hours
The district states that parents or guardians of all students involved in an alleged bullying incident will be notified within 24 hours after administrators become aware of the student's involvement, consistent with state and federal privacy laws.
When appropriate, families are also informed about counseling, school psychological services, restorative measures, and other available interventions.
Investigations
The policy directs administrators to:
Begin investigating promptly.
Make reasonable efforts to complete investigations within 10 school days.
Notify the building principal as soon as possible.
Meet with parents to discuss investigation findings and actions taken.
Provide information about available support services for affected students.
Prevention and intervention
Rather than relying solely on discipline, the policy emphasizes interventions such as:
Social work services
Counseling
Restorative measures
Social-emotional skill development
Community-based services
Retaliation against anyone who reports bullying or participates in an investigation is prohibited.
The Board of Education must also formally review the bullying policy every two years, evaluating information such as:
Frequency of victimization
Student, family, and staff perceptions of safety
Locations where bullying occurs
Types of bullying
Bystander intervention
Those review results must ultimately be submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Reporting bullying
Students and families can generally report bullying to:
Teachers
Principals
Assistant principals
School counselors
Other trusted staff members
Anonymous reports are also accepted.
Once a report is received, administrators determine whether the reported conduct meets the legal definition of bullying and what interventions or disciplinary measures, if any, are appropriate.
Beyond discipline: Building a safer school climate
District leaders say bullying prevention extends beyond investigating individual reports.
During a January 14, 2026, Behavioral Interventions Committee meeting, board members and administrators reviewed bullying policies alongside restorative practices, trauma-informed approaches, de-escalation training for staff, and discipline procedures across all grade levels.
According to the meeting summary, committee members also discussed bullying data from the current and previous school years, noting there were "very few incidents in Geneseo." The committee also expressed a goal of collecting and entering data more consistently across school buildings so future data visualizations could help identify trends and guide prevention efforts.
The committee also reviewed the district's online Bullying/Harassment Prevention & Intervention webpage, which provides reporting information, board policies, and a form for reporting incidents.
Know the Difference
Conflict
A disagreement or argument between students that does not necessarily meet the legal definition of bullying.
Bullying
Repeated or severe conduct that substantially interferes with a student's education, safety, or well-being under Illinois law.
Cyberbullying
Bullying carried out through electronic communication that may also be addressed by schools when it substantially disrupts the educational environment.