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Health & Fitness

Patch Blog: How to Motivate Schools to Stop Bullying

A blog, written in two parts, is intended to provide a guide for intervening and stopping the abuse outside of the courts.

Recent, sad events have generated much discussion on the issue of bullying, but not a lot about what to do about it. Below is Part one of a contributed article
by my law partner Robert Cramer on how parents can empower themselves when making a complaint about bullying at school.

Part 1:

Of the many daily crises parents face, among the most heartbreaking is experiencing a child being bullied, harassed, or molested by another child, by a group of other children, by a teacher, by a coach or by an administrator in a school or other academic environment. When confronted by this situation, parents often consult with lawyers or other professionals. Litigation is one approach, but it should only be considered as a last resort. This blog, written in two parts, is intended to provide a guide for intervening and stopping the abuse outside of the courts.

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First, what do we mean by “bullying?” As used here, we mean prolonged, egregious harassment, whether physical or psychological, inflicted against a child. We do not mean issuing an academic grade below the one the parent or child expects. We do not mean failing to allow a child a position on an athletic team, a cheerleading squad, or denying an academic award. “Bullying,” as we define it here, requires conduct that is severe and pervasive, and strikes against the educational experience itself.

Next, some legal touchstones: It is well-established that a school has an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to protect its children. But a school can only do this if someone has notified the school’s teachers or administrators that a problem exists.

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What happens when a teacher or administrator is the person responsible for the problem itself, or where the school’s staff has failed to adequately supervise its students or staff? Liability for lack of supervision or inadequate supervision attaches where the absence or inattention of a supervisor leads to an injury that otherwise would not have occurred.

But how does a court evaluate the adequacy of a school’s supervision? The standard of care imposed upon a school is that which a person of ordinary prudence, charged with comparable duties, would exercise under the circumstances. The scope of the duty is determined by the foreseeability of that type of injury occurring in the absence of adequate supervision or other safeguards.

In exploring these issues, the courts have stressed the notice that is required to justify litigation against a school district. But the parent who simply wants to make the conduct stop can use the guidance offered by these cases to craft the sort of notice that is likely to motivate an effective response. Then, in the event such a response is not forthcoming, a foundation will have been laid for a successful lawsuit.

A number of cases have held that a school district will be liable under anti-discrimination statutes only if actual notice of the wrongdoer’s misconduct is given to an official of the school district who has authority to institute corrective measures on the district’s behalf, and then the official deliberately fails to act effectively. Therefore, if a parent wants a school district to prevent or stop bullying or harassment, it is essential that proper and effective notice be given to responsible district officials.

In Part Two of this blog, I will explore the elements of effective notice that would satisfy existing legal requirements.

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