Bullying is a stubborn constant in our nation’s schools, sadly. According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 20 percent of high school students said they were bullied in some way on school property in the previous 12 months. That percentage has held steady for much of the past decade.

In response, ongoing efforts in many states — Hawaii included — to chip away at bullying and related problems, must press on. Hawaii’s Board of Education is now reviewing regulations in clear need of updates to better serve students and others.

The review, which will include a future BOE public hearing, is prompted, in part, by an agreement the state Department of Education signed in December with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights after the feds spent several years conducting a compliance review that revealed a statewide system struggling to effectively handle the matter.

Among the review’s findings: thousands of students were victimized again after reporting an incident of bullying or harassment. It rightly dinged the system for failing to consistently take steps to protect victims or follow up. Also, in a statewide bullying survey, conducted during the 2014-15 school year, nearly 40 percent of about 70,000 participating students said incidents of bullying had made them feel unsafe at school.

While the DOE has already made improvements, such as the hiring of new compliance officers and training in schools that aims to encourage students to report incidents, more can be done — and is in the works.

The state defines student bullying as any act — whether conveyed in writing, verbally or physically — that causes mental or physical harm to a student, and is “sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive” enough to create an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment.

While reworking administrative rules, Hawaii should look to states like Massachusetts, which ranks among those with the fewest bullying-related problems, according to a just-released WalletHub survey that sized up the topic with metrics including: cyberbullying rates, student-counselor ratios, anti-bullying law, LGBTQ youth practices and sexual harassment prevention. Hawaii ranks near the middle.

While it’s true that school-yard bullies have been around forever, research shows that when adults respond quickly and consistently to such behavior, they send the crucial message that it’s not acceptable. And, over time, that helps defuse problems. That’s the strategy Massachusetts embraces.

In Massachusetts schools, each adult crossing paths with students — from teachers to bus drivers and athletic coaches — undergo training to prevent, identify and respond to bullying. What’s more, the state stresses swift and specific response, with the buck stopping at the school principal’s office.

Hawaii’s agreement with the Office of Civil Rights emphasizes: establishing a clear complaint process; reliable and impartial investigations, giving both sides a chance to provide witnesses and evidence; protecting victims from harassment during an investigation; and informing both sides of investigation outcome.

At a BOE meeting last week, advocates for groups contending with high bullying rates, such as special education students, offered up some worthy specific suggestions, such as replacing vague protocol phrasing — “as soon as possible,” for example — in DOE administrative rules on student misconduct with a set timeline.

Our public schools are tasked with creating a welcoming learning environment for students. And, of course, no child should have to endure the nightmare scenario of getting picked on — and nobody doing anything about it. The state’s education leaders must push forward with changes that aim to step up awareness and safety as well as enforcement of rules pertaining to bullying.