On a day set aside to remember people driven to suicide because they were bullied for being gay, someone called Austin Book a fag.

It was another student in a freshman algebra class. It was April 21, a day of silence for people who took their own lives after bearing the brunt of homophobic harassment. Austin wore a T-shirt that read, "I am silent for equality."

The teacher ignored the classmate's slur, said Austin, who's now halfway through his sophomore year at San Ramon Valley High School and treasurer of its Gay Straight Alliance.

The Danville teen said he knows people will spew insults, but he wants to make sure they're chastised when they do.

Austin shared his story at a recent San Ramon Valley Unified School District board meeting, where trustees approved revisions to the district's anti-bullying and discrimination policy.

The new policy spells out how to respond to cases of "bullying, cyberbullying, harassment of students, hazing [and] other threats of violence against students and staff."

Part of the discussion at the board meeting that night was on how to make the policy more than just rules in a book.

"Just changing the working of the policy isn't enough," agreed Jeffrey Davis, a teacher at San Ramon Valley High who spoke minutes before Austin.

The state requires school districts to enforce harassment and anti-bullying policies, said district spokesman Terry Koehne. But the local district is looking at ways to go above and beyond penning policies. The goal is to actively educate employees, students and their families about what constitutes bullying and how to prevent it or report it when it happens.

"This issue has been at the forefront for us," Koehne said. "It's a universal problem. Our mantra has always been, we teach tolerance, but we don't tolerate hatred on any level."

What about that teacher who reportedly tolerated intolerance toward Austin?

"There is an investigation into that," Koehne said. "We're shocked. This shouldn't happen."

One of the issues the district has to tackle is how to encourage people – students and teachers – to report bullying when it happens. And not just when it happens to gay students, but toward anyone. Bullying includes any sort of repeated harassment that robs a person's peace of mind, according to the policy.

"I think we should have a conversation about what is harassment and what is bullying," said school district trustee Rachel Hurd at the same meeting. "We need to sit down and define these words."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines bullying as "aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated over time, and involves an imbalance of power or strength. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself."

Nationwide, about 20 percent of children are bullied, either physically or verbally, according to the agency. Another 15 to 20 percent report having bullied others.

Some 70 percent of teachers who responded to the same study said they "almost always" intervene when they hear about bullying. But only 25 percent of students surveyed agreed with that assessment.

There's a disconnect between students and the authority figures at school in that many incidents of bullying will go unreported, noted school board trustee Greg Marvel after hearing Austin's story along with a few anecdotes about other students who got bullied but never reported officially it.

To bridge that disconnect, the district's personnel department will appoint someone on each campus to be a liaison. When someone reports bullying to a teacher or some other employee, that information gets forwarded to the principal, who strikes up an investigation into the complaint, Koehne said.

Eventually, complaints about bullying and harassment will go to Jessica Romero, the district's assistant superintendent of human resources.

Austin said the way a teacher responds – or doesn't respond – to bullying is critical. During that same semester, a teacher in Austin's drama class chastised a student who made a homophobic remark. That student never said anything like it for the rest of the school year, Austin said.

"What's really important is the teacher's response," said Ann Katzburg, vice president of the San Ramon Valley Education Association. "They set the example for their students."

The district already has the policy in place. The question is how to better educate students and school employees to deal with the problem, Romero said. That means helping both the bully and the ones being bullied.

"There are two sides to this," said Denise Jennison, the newest trustee on the school board. "We need to remember that."

What shocked trustees about Austin's story is that San Ramon Valley High is considered a very progressive campus in its efforts to combat bullying and particularly harassment against gay students and teachers, Koehne said.

"Part of what we want to find out is if this (Austin's case) is an isolated incident," Koehne said. "There will be an investigation. Students do have a role and responsibility to report things when they happen. We will make sure they know how to do that."

But bullying is more than just a school issue, it's a societal problem, Koehne said. So stories like Austin's come up again and again, despite a school's efforts to fight it.

"I'm stunned," said Marvel. "This shouldn't happen anymore."