Bullying on Long Island: Schools reported 1,906 incidents in 2024-25. Advocates say the number could be bigger.
A fifth grader at Great Neck's Elizabeth Baker Elementary School had just finished recess when a classmate allegedly sucker-punched him in the face and "violently kicked" him as he lay on the ground.
The 11-year-old Chinese American boy was left bloodied and with a broken front tooth after the June 2025 attack, according to a lawsuit filed by the boy's father. His alleged assailant was a fellow classmate with a history of “violent tendencies” who often targeted Asian students and used racial slurs, according to the suit.
“We're talking about the culmination of repeated racial, ethnic harassment that we know the school knew about and failed to stop,” said Paul Liggieri, the victim's Manhattan-based attorney. The district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The alleged incident is just one of the many examples of children being cruel to each other on Long Island.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Long Island school districts reported 1,906 verified bullying, harassment and discrimination incidents in 2024-25, according to a Newsday analysis of data maintained by the New York State Education Department.
- The number of incidents dropped by 26.3% from the year prior, when 2,587 incidents were reported.
- Child advocates said the data fails to show the full scope of the problem, since many students and parents don't know they can file formal complaints or are afraid to come forward.
Island school districts reported 1,906 verified bullying, harassment and discrimination incidents in 2024-25 under the New York's Dignity for All Students Act, according to a Newsday analysis of data maintained by the New York State Education Department.
The number of incidents varied widely from district to district, from zero in Port Washington to 180 in Longwood.
While bullying incidents dropped by 26.3% from the year prior, when 2,587 incidents were reported, child advocates said the data fails to show the full scope of the problem. They said many students and parents are not aware they can file formal complaints or are afraid to come forward due to fear of retaliation from the aggressor or school officials, or alienation.
“Bullying is historically underreported," said Joseph Salamone, executive director of The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying.
According to public health organizations, bullying can be detrimental to a student's mental, emotional and physical well-being. Children who are bullied are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety and other health issues.
“There isn't a school district that can escape this issue," said Salamone. "It's happening on a regular basis, and I think that it's obviously an ongoing issue. No school district has been able to figure out on Long Island, New York, the U.S., or globally how to make kids stop being unkind to each other."
Reporting concerns
New York's Dignity for All Students Act, more commonly known as DASA, took effect in 2012. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of students in school, on buses and at school functions. Incidents that occur off school grounds also can fall under DASA.
Local school districts are responsible for investigating any complaints of bullying. By law, they are required to submit to the state only verified incidents that meet a certain threshold.
For the 2024-25 school year, 21 districts on Long Island — about one-sixth — reported no incidents of bullying or harassment. Of those 21, 11 districts have more than 600 students and eight have a population greater than 1,000.
Advocates said districts may sometimes be unable to verify bullying incidents because witnesses are afraid to speak up, potentially undermining a complaint.
Students also may perceive bullying differently and not label it as such, even if the conduct meets the official definition, research has found. Advocates said this also makes tracking incidents imprecise.
Advocates said parents need to learn to spot signs their children are being victimized or, alternatively, are the aggressor. Students need to be taught to identify and report dangerous behavior, without fear of repercussions. This requires building trust within the school community, they said, and developing consistent practices, including holding bullies accountable.
"We want to teach kids how to be resilient and how to defend themselves in a constructive way, but also to have the confidence to know that when they bring something forward, adults will take it seriously," Salamone said.
Creating a 'culture of reporting'
The four Island districts with the highest number of bullying incidents in 2024-25 were Longwood, Great Neck, Oceanside and Syosset. All except Oceanside saw a decrease from the prior year.
Advocates and some district officials argued higher numbers might not mean more bullying is occurring in those districts, but rather that educators are better at identifying and addressing problems that arise.
"Creating and maintaining an environment in which we empower our students, staff, and school community is one of our top priorities and we believe part of what these numbers reflect is that exact school culture," Longwood schools Superintendent Lance Lohman said in a statement. "Staff are trained to identify, document, and report bullying and harassment rather than handle it informally, which is a deliberate part of our approach to student safety and overall well-being."
Incidents of bullying and harassment in Longwood dropped by 32.3% in 2024-25, from 266 the year prior to 180, or 20.5 per every 1,000 students.
The Great Neck district reported 107 incidents, or 16.2 per 1,000 pupils. A spokeswoman for the district said it "takes all matters of student safety very seriously. Our schools are committed to reporting and investigating every instance of bullying and inappropriate behavior to support a safe environment for all students and staff."
Oceanside reported 79 incidents, or 15.3 per 1,000 students. Superintendent Phyllis Harrington said in a statement the district logged more complaints due to "a culture of reporting and careful documentation, not necessarily a higher incidence of bullying." In 2023-24, Oceanside reported 56 incidents.
"We take school climate and student safety very seriously. Our administrators are trained to document and thoroughly investigate every reported concern to determine whether it is substantiated, and we actively encourage students and parents to report concerns so they can be addressed right away," Harrington said.
Syosset reported 71 incidents, or 10.2 per 1,000 students. District officials did not return requests for comment.
'I have not felt safe'
In June, about 10 current and former Massapequa students attended a board of education meeting to speak out against harassment they said they experienced or witnessed in the district.
“The problem of bullying in the school district is out of control. It needs to be changed right now,” one student, Skylar, told the board members, adding that she and her friends filed multiple DASA reports. “I have not felt safe going to school,” she said.
Skylar's mother, Megan Lutz, told Newsday her daughter was first bullied in second grade while attending school in another district. Her daughter, now 15, has been harassed, called names and body-shamed, Lutz said. She said Skylar is now at the point where she won't tolerate the taunting and will respond to her bullies, but it has taken a toll.
"It gets to her day in and day out," Lutz said. "She's had a lot of mental health, emotional struggles due to all this and having to constantly stand up for herself day in and day out ... No child should have to do that."
Lutz started the Massapequa Kindness Coalition in October due to concerns that school administrators were not doing enough to address harassment and to "build a kinder, safer community," she said. She said the district's DASA reporting form is difficult to find on its website and alleged school of