Bullying is not a standalone crime in California, but asking whether bullying is illegal in California has a practical answer: yes, most bullying behavior is prohibited by some law. A network of education, employment, civil, and criminal statutes reaches the conduct people commonly call bullying, and the consequences range from school suspension to civil damages to jail or prison time. Which law applies depends on where the bullying happens, how severe it is, and whether it targets a protected characteristic like race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
Bullying in California Schools
Public schools have direct authority to discipline students who bully classmates. Education Code Section 48900(r) allows suspension or expulsion for any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act, including electronic communications, aimed at another student. The conduct qualifies as bullying if a reasonable person in the target’s position would fear harm, suffer a significant effect on mental or physical health, lose academic ground, or be shut out of school activities.1California Legislative Information. California Education Code 48900 – Suspension or Expulsion The rule reaches conduct on campus, at school-sponsored events, and off-campus behavior, including social media posts, that carries over into a student’s school life.
The Safe Place to Learn Act (Education Code Section 234.1) requires every public school district to adopt policies prohibiting bullying, harassment, and intimidation based on protected characteristics, including race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, immigration status, and disability. Districts must run a clear complaint process with investigation timelines, require staff to intervene immediately when they see bullying, and publicize student rights in the languages spoken by the school community.2California Legislative Information. California Code Education Code 234.1 – Safe Place to Learn Act Seth’s Law added mandatory complaint procedures with an appeal process and a requirement that the state maintain an annually updated list of support resources for affected students and families.3California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 9 – Pupil Rights: Bullying
Cyberbullying
Several statutes reach bullying that happens through phones, apps, and online platforms, and they apply whether the person doing it is a student, a coworker, or a stranger.
Penal Code Section 653.2 makes it a misdemeanor to use an electronic device to distribute someone’s personal information with the intent to put them in fear for their safety or to invite harassment by others. This is the doxxing statute: posting a target’s address, phone number, or other identifying details to encourage third parties to harass them. A conviction carries up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 653.2 – Electronic Distribution of Personal Identifying Information
Penal Code Section 528.5 criminalizes creating a fake online identity of a real person. Setting up a fraudulent social media profile, email account, or other digital identity in someone else’s name is a crime when done to harm, intimidate, threaten, or defraud that person. No separate threat is required; the impersonation itself is the offense.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 528.5 – False Personation and Cheats
Repeated online harassment combined with a credible threat can be charged as cyberstalking under Penal Code Section 646.9, the general stalking statute. A first offense carries up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or state prison time.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 646.9 – Stalking
When Bullying Becomes a Crime
Once bullying moves past words into threats, physical contact, or a pattern of harassment, prosecutors have several statutes to work with. The charge depends on what the person actually did.
Criminal Threats
Penal Code Section 422 makes it a crime to threaten someone with death or serious bodily injury when the threat is specific enough to place the target in sustained fear. The threat can be spoken, written, or sent electronically. A person can be convicted even if they never intended to follow through, as long as the victim’s fear was reasonable. Criminal threats is a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail or as a felony carrying state prison time.7California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 422 – Criminal Threats
Assault and Battery
Physical bullying can bring assault or battery charges. Penal Code Section 240 defines assault as an unlawful attempt to commit a violent injury with the present ability to do so, and no contact is required. Penal Code Section 242 covers battery, which happens when someone willfully touches another in a harmful or offensive way. Even slight contact counts if done in a rude or angry manner. Both can be charged as misdemeanors or felonies depending on the injury.
Battery on school grounds carries its own penalty under Penal Code Section 243.2: a fine of up to $2,000, up to a year in county jail, or both. When a minor is the offender, the court can also order counseling at the parents’ expense, factoring in the family’s ability to pay.8California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 243.2 – Battery on School Property
Stalking
A pattern of repeated harassment combined with a credible threat, whether in person or online, can be prosecuted as stalking under Penal Code Section 646.9. The prosecution must show that the defendant repeatedly followed or harassed the victim and made a threat intended to place the target in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of an immediate family member.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 646.9 – Stalking
If the Bully Is Under 18
Cases against minors typically go through juvenile court rather than adult court. Outcomes lean toward rehabilitation and can include counseling, community service, probation, or placement in a juvenile facility instead of jail or prison. In serious cases involving older teens, prosecutors can petition to try a minor as an adult, though that is uncommon for bullying-related offenses.
Bullying at Work
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, age, and military or veteran status.9California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12940 – Unlawful Practices California courts have recognized that even a single severe incident can be actionable when the circumstances warrant, which is more protective than the federal pattern-of-conduct standard.
Employers with five or more workers must provide harassment prevention training that includes a component on abusive workplace conduct: behavior carried out with malice that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to legitimate business interests. That covers repeated verbal abuse, derogatory remarks, threatening or humiliating behavior, and deliberate undermining of someone’s work.10California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12950.1 – Employment Discrimination or Harassment Training Not every rude or abusive coworker triggers a legal claim, though. FEHA reaches harassment tied to a protected characteristic; general workplace unpleasantness without that connection is not something the state’s civil rights agency can pursue. FEHA also protects employees from retaliation for reporting harassment or participating in an investigation.
Suing the Bully
A victim can bring a civil case whether or not criminal charges are filed. Civil cases use a lower burden of proof, so a lawsuit may succeed even when prosecutors decline.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a common claim. It requires extreme and outrageous conduct, intent or reckless disregard for the victim’s emotional wellbeing, and severe emotional distress as a result. Persistent harassment, public humiliation, and targeted online abuse can qualify, and courts look at the pattern rather than isolated incidents.
Defamation is another route when a bully spreads false statements that damage someone’s reputation. Civil Code Section 44 splits defamation into libel (written or published) and slander (spoken).11California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 44 – Defamation Social media posts, texts, and online comments count as written publications. Public figures have to prove the speaker knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Sharing sensitive information without consent, hacking accounts, or exposing private facts can support an invasion of privacy claim. California recognizes intrusion upon seclusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light, and misappropriation of name or likeness.
For someone facing an active bully, a civil harassment restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure Section 527.6 is often the fastest tool. A judge can issue a temporary order, often the same day, lasting 15 to 22 days until a hearing. At the hearing, if the petitioner proves harassment by clear and convincing evidence, the court can issue an injunction of up to three years ordering the harasser to stay away and stop all contact. “Harassment” here covers unlawful violence, credible threats of violence, or a pattern of conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.
How to Report Bullying in California
In schools, report to a teacher, counselor, administrator, or the district office. Every district must have a formal complaint process under Education Code Section 234.1, and staff who witness bullying are required to intervene immediately when it is safe.2California Legislative Information. California Code Education Code 234.1 – Safe Place to Learn Act Some districts offer anonymous reporting. If the school does not act, parents can escalate to the California Department of Education.
At work, the usual first step is human resources. If the employer fails to act, or if the harassment involves a protected characteristic, file with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) online or by phone.12California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process Because California has its own fair employment agency, a worksharing agreement means filing with CRD also counts as filing with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
When bullying involves threats, stalking, or physical violence, call local law enforcement. Police can investigate and, in cyberbullying cases, can issue subpoenas to identify anonymous harassers. Social media platforms have their own reporting tools for abusive content, but a platform takedown is not a substitute for a police report when the conduct is criminal.
Deadlines to Take Action
- School complaints: California does not set a strict statewide deadline, but reporting quickly preserves evidence. Each district’s process has its own timeline for investigation and resolution.
- Workplace harassment through the state: submit an intake form to CRD within three years of the last harmful act.
- Workplace harassment through the federal EEOC: 300 calendar days from the last incident, extended from the standard 180 days because California has its own fair employment agency. Weekends and holidays count, but if the last day falls on one, the deadline rolls to the next business day.14U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge
- Civil lawsuits for personal injury and intentional torts: two years from the date of the harmful act, or in some cases from the date the harm was discovered.