The tough job of being an educator has grown tougher in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down classes, then upended teaching with online lessons. Learning losses compounded, and dissatisfaction increased over school policies: mandatory stay-at-home after COVID contact, vaccinations for school sports, masking protocols.

Little wonder, then, that nearly 1 in every 3 teachers — 29% — reported experiencing at least one incident of verbal harassment or threatening behavior from a parent of a student between March 2020 and June 2021, according to a nationwide survey by the American Psychological Association. And nearly half — 42% — of school administrators, such as principals and vice principals, reported harassment and/or threats from a parent, in the survey of nearly 15,000 educators.

Parental frustration does not justify such escalation of bad behavior; nothing is gained when legitimate concerns devolve into harassment or threats, or worse. But sadly, times have changed, becoming less civil and more emotionally charged — and Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) leaders need to step up and adapt. They need to better address valid concerns about aggressive parents crossing the line, and to improve intervention, protection and support for affected staffers.

In a Sunday article, Star-Advertiser education writer Esme Infante reported that former HIDOE communications director Lindsay Chambers endured intimidating, racist and vulgar phone calls from an aggressive parent, who sometimes called HIDOE up to nine times a day; it escalated to one saying she “will be terminated,” which she took as “a not-so-veiled threat to kill me.” Over two-plus years, Chambers said, HIDOE brass failed to support her with an adequate safety plan or legal aid to protect her and her staff. She eventually won a three-year injunction against the harassing father, but it was at her own expense and effort; neither HIDOE nor the attorney general’s office provided help.

When harassment goes beyond the workplace, HIDOE said, the employee must rely upon the police department for assistance. “If the employee wishes to seek other remedies, such as seeking a temporary restraining order or injunction,” it said, the law doesn’t permit the department to provide legal representation.

“That makes no sense, because it’s through the course of my employment that this was happening,” said Chambers, and she’s right, especially since her fears were validated by the granting of the legal injunction against the threatening parent.

And she’s not the only recipient of on-the-job threats: Other cases include death threats against a Stevenson Middle School principal and her family.

In the recent legislative session, House Bill 2125 attempted to create as a misdemeanor offense the harassment of an educational worker for disrupting or interfering with the functions of any school or school board. Though well-intended, valid opposition was raised due to the bill’s overly broad potential to stifle or “chill” legitimate parent concerns from being voiced.

Regardless of whether the bill passes next year, there are actions HIDOE can and should be taking now, as noted by Cynthia Bartlett of the Hawaii Autism Foundation, in her testimony opposing HB 2125. It should train its administrators and districts to ensure current harassment laws are being used and enforced, she said, including conflict resolution to address parent concerns.

HIDOE should set up listening sessions with its employees, to foster better communication and understanding of harassment problems, and improve access to dispute-resolution training.

Strengthening parent-school relationships also is essential, and Bartlett is right in noting that parental frustration does not occur in a vacuum. HIDOE’s bureaucracy and sometimes-opaque workings can exasperate.

But parents need to hear and heed school protocols against harassment, to know that personal vendettas that veer into unhinged behavior are unacceptable.

All involved — parents, teachers and HIDOE leaders — bear responsibility in keeping situations from turning ugly. Civility and respect must return to our campuses.