The Sophie Fund

Tompkins County children are getting bullied at school, outside of school, and online. But the most recent survey of students, in 2025, showed a slight decrease in online bullying although bullying at school and outside school remained relatively constant.

More than a quarter of Tompkins County students grades 6-12 say they were bullied at school

However, the survey results show Tompkins County with a significantly higher prevalence of bullying compared to the national average.

According to the 2025 Community-Level Youth Development Evaluation (CLYDE) survey of 3,952 students, 18.2 percent reported being bullied electronically compared to 20.4 percent in 2023.

More than a quarter of students in grades 6-12 said they were bullied at school, with the greatest prevalence occurring in middle school grades.

Overall, 27.9 percent of Tompkins students in the survey said they were bullied at school; 20.2 percent were bullied outside school; and 18.2 percent were bullied electronically.

Eighth graders reported the highest percentages, with 34.1 percent, 24.1 percent, and 19.6 percent saying they were bullied in those categories, respectively.

The 2025 results saw data similar to the 2023 results for bullying at school and outside school, when the figures were 27.7 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively.

In the national 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 19.7 percent of U.S. high school students reported being bullied at school and 14.6 percent bullied online. Those figures were lower than the high school figures in Tompkins County except for seniors bullied at school.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a good time to check out The Sophie Fund’s “Bullying Prevention Resources for Schools and Families.” This is a new updated guide for the 2026-2027 school year with information about how bullying affects individuals and communities and what we can do to prevent it.

For schools, the guide contains resources for curricula, discussion plans, activity kits, infographics, videos, art projects, coloring books, role playing, pledge signing, clubs, Bullying Prevention Month activities, and special websites for teens and kids.

The Sophie Fund distributed the guide to all school leaders as well as Parent-Teacher Organizations/Associations in Tompkins County.

“The guide presents a brief overview of bullying and its impacts as well as national and local data illustrating the extent of the problem,” said Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund.

“But the focus of the guide is on providing schools with resources with which to proactively prevent bullying. It lists resources that schools can use to organize bullying prevention activities year-round and especially for National Bullying Prevention Month in October.”

For parents and their children, the guide provides detailed information about how to file a complaint to school officials about bullying, harassment, or discrimination under the New York State Dignity for All Students Act (DASA).

The Dignity Act is set up so that everyone has a role in supporting a child when bullying occurs. Parents and family members should know that they are not alone, if they ever find themselves in this situation, and that the best thing they can do for their child is to work in partnership with their school Dignity Act Coordinator to address the issue and to improve their child’s experience.

DOWNLOAD Bullying Prevention Resources for Schools and Families

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The Sophie Fund encourages schools and youth-serving organizations to use the occasion to provide educational programming and activities designed to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) bullying behaviors.

DOWNLOAD Tompkins County Schools Dignity Act Coordinators

Bullying can have negative and even life-long impacts on both victims and aggressors. Bullying can have a negative long-term impact on mental health, substance use, and it even has links to suicide.

According to StopBullying.gov, kids who are bullied are more likely to experience:

• Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy.
• Health complaints.
• Decreased academic achievement, school participation, and attendance.

Kids who bully others are more likely to:

• Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults.
• Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school.
• Engage in early sexual activity.
• Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults.
• Be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses, or children as adults.

DOWNLOAD Bullying Prevention Resources for Schools and Families