SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Bullying in Utah schools is leaving some families with lifelong grief and raising questions about whether schools have enough resources and accountability to protect students before it’s too late.
Samie Hardman said her 12-year-old son, Drayke Hardman, died by suicide after being bullied for almost a year.
“Bullying is causing these kids every year, every month, every day to, to take their lives because they don’t think that there’s any other way out,” Hardman said.
MORE: A year of bullying, a child lost: Utah schools still struggle to stop the cycle
Drayke was a son and a brother, and his family remembers him as a kid who was growing up and figuring out who he was. In a TikTok video, Drayke encouraged other kids to focus on self-worth.
“What sucks is, butterflies can’t see color; they can’t see what the color of their rings are; they can’t see how beautiful they are. That’s kind of like us humans. We don’t see anything beautiful in us, anything good in us. All we think about is the negative: ‘I’m fat, I’m skinny, I’m ugly.’ I have something for you to do for at least this whole week. Every day, at least once a day, go in the mirror and list out two things you love about yourself. Because I feel like this world has way too much negativity. Try to get this on the ‘For You Page’ so more people can see it,” Drayke said.
Hardman described the moment her family lost him in 2022.
“And I laid there until we heard his last beat,” she said.
Hardman said her son suffered physical bullying, including a black eye after being punched in the face in a bathroom. The bully was suspended, but Hardman said repeated suspensions did not solve the problem.
“It’s like a brush under the rug. We’re just gonna suspend him again. It’s not helping,” she said.
The Hardmans said they did everything they could to address what was happening, but believe Scholar Academy did not handle the situation the way it should have. Hardman said that on the day Drayke took his own life, the bully lured him with treats. She said Drayke “had been basically picked up and body slammed.”
The school will not release the surveillance video that shows this. Scholar Academy Principal Jeff Hall called Drayke’s death “heartbreaking” for the entire Scholar Academy community. Hall said that due to confidentiality obligations, “Scholar Academy is unable to provide or discuss any video footage, disciplinary actions, or allegations involving individual students.”
State data obtained by 2News Investigates, shows bullying remains a significant issue in Utah schools. The Utah State Board of Education’s 2025 School Disciplinary and Law Enforcement Action Report lists 2,910 total incidents of bullying. The report shows sixth- and eighth-grade students report the highest number of bullying incidents, with trends decreasing as students enter 10th and 12th grade, while bullying shifts digitally to cyberbullying.
Hardman said she wants more focus on addressing why bullying happens.
“Let’s find out what’s going on in the home. The kids being bullied will no longer be bullied if we can figure out why the bully is bullying,” she said.
When asked what she would say to state lawmakers and educational leaders, she urged them to take action and said more counselors are needed in schools.
“Let’s do something to fix it. Let’s get some people into these schools that can really help these kids,” Hardman said. She added, “We need less administration and more counselors.”
Becca Rae, a Bullying Prevention and Behavior Support Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education, referring to counselors, said it’s important for students to know there is someone they can reach out to.
“It’s so important that they know that there, there is someone that they can reach out to, uh, especially if they don’t have that person at home,” Rae said.
Rae said schools are required to create action plans not only for students who are targeted, but also for students who bully, with consequences tailored to address the underlying problem.
“Schools are now required to not only create an action plan to support a student who is targeted, but there’s also an action plan for the student who bullied and the consequences for that student should be tailored to them to make sure that they’re addressing the problem,” she said.
Asked whether the Board is doing enough, Rae said, “Yeah, the board continues to, to evaluate the data and make changes based on what we’re seeing.”
Hardman said the current approach still falls short.
“This problems not gonna go away and you’re just gonna have more parents like me that are — that have to deal with this nightmare,” she said. She also reflected on how much time has passed since her son’s death: “It’s hard I mean Drayke would be a senior this year.”
Rae said training is also critical so teachers can recognize warning signs and respond appropriately. She said the Board has recently updated bullying policies to address cyberbullying and deep fakes, citing changes in technology and the use of artificial intelligence.
_____
