School administrators are required to notify the police and child services about instances of bullying.
If they fail to do so, they may face administrative penalties, as explained by educational ombudswoman Nadia Leshchik.
She clarified that school and kindergarten directors must respond to verbal or written reports of violence or cruel treatment of children. The law mandates that this be done within a day of receiving a complaint.
If the administrator identifies signs of bullying, they must promptly inform the child's parents or guardians and submit a written statement to the police and child services.
Nadia Leshchik emphasized that such notification is crucial for holding offenders and their parents (if they are students) accountable. Following such a report, law enforcement may initiate an investigation, and a court will later decide if bullying indeed occurred.
"In the report, it may not always refer specifically to bullying; sometimes, it may be a one-time act of violence, but it should not be ignored – it is still cruel treatment, and the police will determine whether there are grounds for a criminal case or for drafting an administrative offense protocol.
Determining how to classify cruel treatment of a child at the moment of receiving such a report is the police's authority, not the educational institution's director," explained the educational ombudswoman.
According to her, directors or committees reviewing bullying cases in schools do not have the authority to conclude whether a child was indeed bullied, but they can identify signs of mistreatment to include in their report to the police and make decisions regarding further actions within the institution.
If the school director does not report to the police, they may be held administratively liable under part 5 of article 173-4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. In such cases, the administrator faces a fine (from 425 to 850 hryvnias) or corrective labor for up to one month with a deduction of up to 20% of their wages.
Judicial practice shows that violators are most often fined.
Appeals to the educational ombudswoman's office indicate that some leaders do not inform law enforcement out of fear of damaging the institution's reputation or that the situation will become public.
Additionally, directors mistakenly believe that they should first review the bullying report with a special committee.
"However, ignoring such situations does not solve the problem but exacerbates it, leading to negative consequences for all participants in the educational process, including the institution's director," believes Nadia Leshchik.
Previously, the Ministry of Education and Science created a mechanism for quick reporting of bullying in schools. Students or their parents can fill out a brief questionnaire and submit a complaint electronically.