FUHSD Board Approves Policy Changes

Article Written By: Sanvi Desai & Natasha Gumpula

For many students in the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD), cyberbullying has been something people quietly deal with rather than something schools actively address. That’s what made the FUHSD Board of Trustees meeting on February 10, 2026 feel different.

Students showed up, not just in person, but online too, to support a push for stronger aftermath protections. Members of Cyber For Youth and student advocates Sahana Suresh, Rafael Joaquin Bañes, Gaurav Malhotra, Samhita Srimath Kandali, Sanvi Desai, Aishi Nanda, and Vaishnavi Rajesh all helped bring attention to the issue and back the proposed changes by giving 3 minute long speeches. Ria Sethi, Monta Vista High School senior, was at the center of it all.

"Let’s keep advocating so that the stories we tell in a few years aren’t about what we lost, but about what we prevented from ever happening in the first place" — Ria Sethi

Ria’s advocacy didn’t come out of nowhere: it came from personal experience. As a freshman, she was targeted by an anonymous Instagram account that leaked her address and posted harmful comments about her. Things escalated to the point where people were sending threatening messages, and she no longer felt safe or comfortable going to school. When she asked for help, she was told the situation was “outside the school’s jurisdiction.”

That incident stuck with her. However, instead of letting it go, Ria started asking herself: if she felt this unsupported, how many other students were going through the same thing?

Ria didn’t set out to become the person pushing a district to change its policy. It happened gradually, through Cyber For Youth, and she kept bringing the issue up in spaces where it was usually overlooked. She reached out to district leaders, sat in on conversations that most students usually don’t get invited into, and stayed with it even when nothing seemed to change right away. What she kept coming back to was simple. If students are being hurt, it should not matter whether it happens on campus or through a screen. Schools still have a responsibility.

That persistence eventually turned into a special opportunity. At the board meeting, the updated policy was approved, officially expanding protections to include cyberbullying both on and off campus. It also made it clearer what schools are expected to do when something is reported, so students are not left figuring everything out by themselves. 

In addition to this, Lynbrook’s EPIC Newspaper covered the story and highlighted the work behind it, especially the role students played in making the change happen. It made everything feel more unified, like this was not just one decision, but part of something bigger that high school students helped push forward.