Create Your School Incident Report

A school incident report is a document that records an event occurring in a K-12 school setting that involves student safety, behavior, injury, bullying, property damage, or any other event requiring documentation. It captures the date, time, and location, identifies the students and staff involved, describes what happened, records what actions were taken, tracks parent and administrator notifications, and plans follow-up actions. Under FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g), incident reports containing personally identifiable student information are education records that must be maintained confidentially, stored securely, and made available to parents upon request under 34 CFR Part 99.

This report is designed with FERPA-compliant structure and includes confidentiality notices on every page of the generated PDF. FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) requires that education records — including incident reports — be protected from unauthorized disclosure. Under 34 CFR § 99.31, schools may disclose records without consent only to school officials with a legitimate educational interest, to comply with a judicial order, or in connection with a health or safety emergency. However, full FERPA compliance is the responsibility of the school and school district. This report should be stored, accessed, and shared according to your district's FERPA policies. Only authorized personnel with legitimate educational interest should have access to incident reports containing personally identifiable student information.

Bullying is generally defined by three characteristics: it is intentional, repeated, and involves a power imbalance (real or perceived) between the bully and the target. Most state anti-bullying statutes incorporate these elements — for example, New Jersey's Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (N.J. Stat. § 18A:37-14) defines harassment, intimidation, or bullying as any gesture, written/verbal/physical act, or electronic communication that is reasonably perceived as motivated by a distinguishing characteristic and substantially disrupts the school environment. A one-time conflict between peers of roughly equal social standing — such as an argument over a game — is typically not bullying, even if it is aggressive. However, a single severe incident (such as a physical assault or widespread social media harassment) may qualify as bullying even without prior repetition under statutes like Texas's David's Law (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.0832). When in doubt, flag the incident as bullying-related to ensure proper investigation. Your state's anti-bullying statute provides the specific legal definition applicable in your jurisdiction.

Flag the Title IX toggle when the incident involves sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal/physical conduct of a sexual nature), sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, gender-based bullying or harassment, or any other sex-based discrimination that creates a hostile educational environment. Under Title IX (20 U.S.C. § 1681) and its implementing regulations at 34 CFR Part 106, schools receiving federal funding must have a Title IX Coordinator and specific procedures for investigating Title IX complaints. The 2022 Title IX regulations require schools to respond promptly to reports of sex-based harassment and provide supportive measures to affected students. Flagging the incident ensures it is routed to the appropriate person for investigation under these federal requirements.

Document the incident the same way you would for any student. The incident report itself should contain the facts of what occurred. However, for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) under IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) or Section 504 plans, the school must consider whether the behavior is a manifestation of the student's disability before imposing disciplinary action — especially suspensions exceeding 10 cumulative school days. The Supreme Court in Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305 (1988), established that schools cannot unilaterally exclude students with disabilities for behavior related to their disability. Under IDEA's discipline provisions (20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)), a manifestation determination review must be conducted within 10 school days of any decision to change the student's placement. Note in the corrective actions section if a manifestation determination review is needed. The IEP or 504 team should review the incident as part of their ongoing assessment of the student's plan.