Image Credit: Google Earth
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
Rush Strong School in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee is the flagship school in Jefferson County for the highest number of student Bullying/Harassment investigations for the 2025-2026 school year.
The school board is planning a special meeting to address the issue at Rush Strong and other schools.
In previous interviews with parents in the Jefferson County School System by the Tennessee Conservative News, bullying incidents were cited as one of the top concerns that led families to remove their children from public schools. As of the last reporting period dated December 2025, at least 990 children were being held out of the Jefferson County School System for homeschool and other private education options.
For a copy of the December 2025 non-public Student Enrollment Report for Jefferson County, the article with background information is linked here.
Of the 233 system-wide reports of Bullying and Harassment, 211 were investigated according to a document obtained from Jefferson County Schools via a formal records request. The reports were categorized as follows: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation, Religion Discrimination, Race, Color or National Origin Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, and Other. The category “Other” was not defined in the report.
200 incidents were reported in the undefined category of “Other.”
Parents taking to social media, contacting board members and school administrators, and making appearances at board meetings have called attention to the bullying/harassment problem in Jefferson County Schools.
The school board has announced a special called meeting for May 13, 2026 to address the issue through policy changes to Board Policy 6.304. Specifically, the policy is titled Student Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Cyber-bullying, and Intimidation.
The preface to the policy states “In order to maintain a safe, civil, and supportive environment in school for students to learn and achieve high academic standards, acts of bullying, cyber-bullying, discrimination (including the definition of antisemitism found in policy 4.100), harassment, intimidation, hazing, or any other victimization of students, based on any actual or perceived traits or characteristics, are prohibited.”
The full policy 6.304 is linked here.
Parents have taken issue with the effectiveness of the policy, and the school board is meeting to address the issue with the following meeting call. Historic Courthouse [Dandridge, Tennessee] Policy Committee – Special Called Meeting @5:30 PM on May 13th.
Purpose of meeting: Review, Policy #6.304 Student Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Cyber-bullying, and Intimidation
One school board member is encouraging parents and members of the public to attend the special called meeting and share their experiences and express their concerns on the topic of bullying and harassment.
“I encourage anyone concerned to address the board on May 13, 2026, so we can better address the problem. Anyone speaking on the issue will have 3 minutes to address the board.” – said Dawn Mayer (R-White Pine), School Board Member, District 4
The report featured below is a school-by-school account of bully/harassment investigations in Jefferson County Schools.
Absent from the reporting is any account of action taken by school administrators to address the problem. The Tennessee Conservative News will follow the issue, report on action taken at the special called school board meeting, and encourages parents, teachers, and school administrators to contact us if you would like to discuss or provide information on the bully/harassment issue, confidentially assured.
For additional background information on Rush Strong School and the effectiveness of citizen engagement in helping solve problems, relevant articles are linked below.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
