Bullying & The Law - The BULLY Project, How to Report a School for Discriminatory Discipline 13

ABOUT PUBLIC JUSTICE

This Bullying and the Law guide was developed for the Bully Project by Adele Kimmel, Esquire. Adele is the head of Public Justice’s Anti-Bullying Campaign, which represents bullying victims and their families in lawsuits designed to hold school districts and officials accountable when they fail to protect children from bullying. The Campaign’s goal is to help make systemic change to the culture of school districts, so they do a better job of preventing bullying and responding appropriately when bullying occurs. Public Justice is a national public interest law firm supported by a not-for-profit organization, the Public Justice Foundation. To learn more and contact Adele and the Public Justice team visit: Public Justice, www. publicjustice. net.

INTRODUCTION TO BULLYING

AND THE LAW GUIDE

Schools are responsible for maintaining a safe learning environment for all students. This responsibility includes taking steps to prevent bullying and to stop it when it occurs. The unfortunate reality is that our schools aren’t doing enough to protect students from bullying. Despite anti-bullying laws and policies across the country, adult leaders at schools often turn a blind eye. Eight of out every 10 times a child gets bullied at school, no adult intervenes. This is partly because half of our country’s school administrators and educators haven’t received training on how to prevent or respond to bullying. This guide will help you understand what the law requires school districts and employees to do to address bullying. It’s designed to give you information on what you can reasonably expect from schools when your child is being bullied, and what your options are when schools don’t do enough to protect your child. Note: This guide is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Because the law changes and can vary from state to state, this information is not guaranteed to be up to date or applicable to your exact situation.