What Schools Should Know About Bullying and Harassment
What is Bullying?
Webster’s Dictionary states that a bully is "a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker." Almost every one of us can recall witnessing a bullying incident or being the victim of a bully. Many of us have our own personal stories of how being bullied in childhood or adulthood impacted our lives. As educators, we have seen the lifelong negative consequences that bullying causes to our students.
The Purpose of This Website
Years ago many people dismissed the topic and said it was "just a normal part of growing up". Recently, there has been unprecedented attention given to this topic in an effort to prevent suicides and violent revenge on the part of the victims. This website will discuss bullying, harassment, relevant case law and the resources for educators, administrators, and parents.
Studies and Statistics
The 2002 U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education study on “targeted violence” found that 71% of the shooters had felt attacked, threatened, persecuted, injured, or bullied by others. The U.S. Justice Department conducted a study on school shootings in 2006 which stated that two-thirds of the surviving student shooters had previously been bullied.
The 2006 school climate survey entitled Where We Learn by the Urban Student Achievement Task Force of the NSBA Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) found that twenty-five percent of students said they are bullied during the school day. Hutton reported in his article No Rite of Passage: Coming to Grips with Harassment and Bullying,that fifty percent of the 32,000 high school students from the 15 urban school districts in the survey reported seeing students being bullied at least once a month. Half of those students were doubtful that teachers could stop the bullying behavior (2006). The following year's March/April 2007 CUBE Urban Advocate surveyed administrators and found that 38.5% of administrators disagreed with the previous years report. Administrators did not think students were bullied at least once a month at school, and they were more optimistic that they could discourage bullying. Seventy two percent felt they could discourage bullying; but 11.9% felt they could not deter bullying.
Harassment or Bullying?
"Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me." This nursery rhyme could not be further from the truth. Words DO hurt and as educators and administrators we need to help our students and staff understand the damage that words can inflict, and the possible unintended consequences. Stein’s article Words Matter Sweeping serious harassment under the ‘bullying’ rug does students a disservice states that some behavior schools label as bullying is in fact harassment and may be criminal conduct. She advocates teaching the distinction between harassment and bullying so that students understand that harassment and discrimination based on national origin, disability, race, and gender are civil rights violations and therefore protected under federal law. She believes schools should focus less on punishing students in the name of zero tolerance for bullying and focus instead on ensuring equal educational opportunities and protection of student’s civil rights (2006).
Zero Tolerance
While it is critical to ensure that schools are safe places for children to learn, and it’s important to teach children that harassment and bullying are unacceptable, we need to be sure we don’t create more problems by going overboard with a zero tolerance approach. When a first grader calls another first grader “a fat cauliflower head” is that bullying? We’ve already seen too many cases where little children holding hands, giving a hug, or trying to kiss someone are expelled under “zero tolerance” sexual contact rule. Likewise, we’ve seen primary students expelled for bringing a squirt gun to school, and at least one honor Boy Scout student expelled for forgetting to remove his scout knife from his backpack after camping. Common sense and looking at the student’s age, maturity level, and intent must all be factors before discipline is meted out.
Bully Revenge and Bully Suicide
Nationwide there have been many cases of bullied victims taking matters into their own hands by either seeking revenge or committing suicide because they feel no one is paying attention to their plight.
The April 20, 1999 Columbine massacre which left 13 dead and 24 wounded shook America to the core. The recognition that the students’ desperate acts of destruction were partially in response to their feelings of alienation and being bullied is heartbreaking and devastating for all concerned.
Twelve year old Tempest Smith had been bullied and persecuted from second grade on until she no longer could handle the pain and committed suicide in February of 2001.
On September 24, 2003, Jason McLaughlin shot and killed two fellow students in Cold Spring, Minnesota, in retaliation for being harassed, teased and persecuted. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Matt Epling was an eighth grader who was hazed by upperclassmen in a “Welcome to High School” incident on his last day at MacDonald Middle School in 2002. He ended his life about forty days later after enduring threats and just before formal charges were filed with the police. His parents have worked tirelessly to ensure that other parents won’t have to endure their heartache. They’ve worked on establishing the Safe Schools/Safe Communities program and on getting state wide anti- bullying, harassment and hazing legislation passed in Michigan instead of the current “suggestion” that schools adopt such a policy. Currently, “Matt’s Safe School” Senate Bills 275 and 159 and House Bill 4850 have been introduced in the Michigan Legislature.
Daniel Scruggs an extremely bright student, was bullied and tormented in middle school for more than a year. Although many school officials were aware of what was happening, they did not intervene or stop the abuse which included putting “Kick Me” signs on his back, making him eat lunch off of the floor, shoving, and yelling at him. Desperate to avoid school, Daniel soiled himself and refused to bathe. His mother reported that he slept in a small closet with a knife and homemade spear because he was afraid of break-ins. He hung himself in his closet on January 2, 2002. His mother was convicted on one count –“risk of injury to a minor for an unhealthy home environment.” Connecticut has since passed laws requiring schools to maintain anti-bullying policies, and to log and report bullying incidents.
According to her parents, Kristina Calco, was a shy, sensitive fifteen year old. She took her life on December 4, 2005, just 22 days before her sixteenth birthday. Described by friends as a warm, caring, and intelligent girl, Kristina had been bullied, tormented, and harassed by a group of boys since middle school. Although her girl friends treasured her as a friend, the constant harassment at school destroyed her self-esteem and she was desperately unhappy. Unfortunately, none of her friends told a teacher or her parents about the constant bullying; instead they continued to offer her their support and reassurance that she was a beautiful and good person. After her death, her parents read her journals, read the IM messages on her phone, and accessed her My Space account and determined that Kristina decided to end her life because the truly unattainable goals she had set for herself to reach by age 16 hadn’t been accomplished. These goals included being popular, thin, tall, perfect hair and teeth, having a boyfriend, being a varsity cheerleader and maintaining her 4.0 GPA to name just a few. Her mother stated that Kristina chose death as the way to end her unbearable pain.
Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying has become an increasing concern, especially after the suicide deaths of Ryan Halligan and Megan Meier.
Ryan Halligan began being verbally bullied in fifth grade. By the time he was thirteen, he had been so physically bullied at middle school that he took up kickboxing. The bullying escalated to cyberbullying and included non-stop ridiculing and taunting instant messages and e-mails. After telling the same boy who had earlier bullied him, but supposedly now was a friend, about an embarrassing incident, the “friend” started the rumor that Ryan was gay. The taunting escalated. The final straw was when a pretty girl pretended she liked him online, then later told him in front of her friends that said she was joking and that he was a loser. She further humiliated him by copying and pasting the personal messages he had sent her into her friends Instant Messages. Ryan could endure the bullying and taunts no longer, and hung himself on October 7, 2003. His father travels nationwide speaking to teachers and students about the dangers of cyberbullying. Because the cyberbullying included the rumor that Ryan was gay, it can also be considered homophobic bullying.
Megan was thirteen at the time she was harassed on My Space by what she believed was a young man named “Josh.” In reality, “Josh” was the fictitious creation of her teenage neighbor, the teens mom, Lori Drew, and Ashley Grills, an 18 year old employee of Lori’s. Megan, who suffered from depression and ADD, committed suicide in October of 2006 after being harassed and then rejected by “Josh” who said he no longer wanted to remain friends. On November 26, 2008, Lori Drew was convicted in California (home base for My Space) in a landmark cyberbullying case. She was convicted on “three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization.”
Megan’s mom worked tirelessly for two years to get the bill outlawing cyber bullying passed in the Missouri legislature. Missouri governor Matt Blunt signed the bill into law on June 30, 2008. Since it’s passage, at least seven cases of cyber bullying have been filed in Missouri, and eighteen states have passed laws dealing with cyber bullying or cyber-stalking.
Nicole A. Williams, a 21-year-old woman in St. Charles has been charged with misdemeanor harassment for allegedly sending harassing text messages to a 16 or 17 year- old girl who supposedly had had a physical relationship with William’s boyfriend.
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that if speech could be considered “on campus in nature” even if it was created off campus if there was a “sufficient nexus with and disruption of the operation of the school” J. S. v Bethlehem Based on this ruling, students can be disciplined for cyberbullying behavior, even if it is conducted off-campus. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) school officials may be subject to harassment lawsuits under Title IX or to sanctions under state law if they ignore cyberbullying. Based on the Court’s ruling in Vance, 231 F.3d at 260, schools are liable if there is deliberate indifference that causes student’s to undergo’ harassment or ‘make them liable or vulnerable’ to it.
Cyberbullying: Tools and Tips for Prevention and Intervention explains when schools can legally discipline students for cyberbullying when an off-site computer is used. Based on Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District student’s have a right to exercise free speech even if it makes teachers, administrators, and other students angry or annoyed. It is only when the speech or behavior “materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others” that the school can discipline. It must have a “substantial impact” on the educational process. Another issue schools can get into trouble with is the searching of student cell phones for incoming calls and text messages. The webcast explains that students still have their 4th Amendment rights, evidence seized by an illegal search can be suppressed in court which can undermine the judicial system’s ability to prosecute, and that teachers and administrators are “state actors.” It suggests using informed consent (which waives 4th Amendment rights) and determine if the parents or child owns the phone, seize the phone and save it for the police using and established “chain of custody” to prove there has been no tampering, and sealing the phone with a dated seal. It advises that the criminal evidence would be suppressed, but a lawsuit against the district could be prevented if the above actions were followed.
Homophobic Bullying
Homophobic bullying is harassment, teasing, name calling, social exclusion, taunting, gestures, degrading or insulting comments towards someone who is gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender or perceived to be any of the above. When a student’s education is interrupted or discontinued due to such harassment, it is a violation of Title IX and a district may be liable for damages if they are ruled to be deliberately indifferent to known acts of harassment.
Theno v. Tonganoxie Unified School District No. 464
The plaintiff, Dylan J. Theno, left school during his eleventh grade year after enduring four years of harassment beginning in seventh grade. Although he was heterosexual, he was perceived as gay, and was called sexually degrading names, the butt of jokes where he was supposedly caught masturbating in the school bathroom and was pushed, shoved, tripped at school. Although the accusations were untrue, students continued to make him the butt of their jokes. Most of his harassers were given verbal warnings, very few were more severely reprimanded. It was not until his tenth-grade year that the school began to proactively speak to students and teachers about harassment. The court ruled for the student, the district appealed. Again the court held for the Theno and in 2005 the Kansas school district agreed to pay him $440,000.
Jaysen Kettl conspired to torture then kill 20 classmates, teachers and administrators at Vidor High School in Texas in November of 2003 before committing suicide. Jaysen first encountered bullying when he left a gifted program in eighth grade, then it escalated to include sexual harassment once he declared his homosexual orientation . The bullying included name calling, pushing him down the stairs, mocking, and taking his books. Once a bright student doing well in school, he began having difficulty and had to repeat ninth grade. He associated with a group of outcast students, dressing in Goth, and listening to heavy metal music and practicing Satanism. He was sentenced in 2004 to four years in prison and ten years of probation. After a year in confinement, he said, “Jail isn’t bad. I would have liked to be home with my family, but it’s better than high school.”
Although the following case doesn’t involve homophobic bulling, it nonetheless will impact future education cases involving gay or lesbian students and their First Amendment Rights. In Nguon v Wolf, No. 05-868 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 25, 2007) a U.S. district court ruled that Charlene Nguon’s suspension from Santiago High School for inappropriate public display of affection with her girlfriend, and Principal Wolf’s disclosure of Charlene’s sexual preference to her mother did not violate Charlene’s right to equal protection, free speech or privacy. Charlene had claimed her public displays of affection were protected speech under the First Amendment. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morse v. Frederick, the U.S. district court restated that school officials “may restrict student speech that is inconsistent with the school’s basic educational mission, even though the government would lack the authority to restrict similar outside the school environment.” “The prohibition on IPDA did not seek to eliminate ‘expressions of sexuality, or even expressions of gay sexuality’. The court further ruled that Mr. Wolf was exercising a principal’s legal duty to explain and inform parents of disciplinary measures, so therefore did not violate Charlene’s rights to privacy. Additionally, he had personal immunity since he was performing his duty as a public official.
State and District Response
Alaska law AS 14.33.125 prohibits harassment, intimidation, or bullying on or immediately adjacent to school property, at school-sponsored activities, and on school-provided transportation including at official school bus stops. School districts must have policies in place and posted, and as funds permit, training for staff must take place. The policy must also include a statement that prohibits reprisal against someone reporting harassment, intimidating, or bullying behavior and consequences if someone tries to retaliate. Provisions for false reporting are also to be included.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s 2008-09 Student Rights, Responsibilities & Behavioral Consequences Handbook states: “Students have a right to be safe at school and learn in a stimulating, inclusive, safe learning community in which they take intellectual risks and work independently and collaboratively. Students are expected to contribute to the maintenance of a safe learning community by reporting to school administrators or other school staff when they are aware of a dangerous object or activity that could disrupt or threaten school safety” (p. 21). The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has a non-discrimination policy (School Board Policy 1011) which was amended this past fall to include gender orientation in addition to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, and sexual orientation. Racial and sexual harassment are addressed in Administrative Regulation 1011, Board Policy, and Administrative Regulation 1012.1. Excerpts are included in the 2008-09 Student Rights, Responsibilities & Behavioral Consequences Handbook. In addition, intimidating or bullying behavior is prohibited by School Board Policy and Administrative Regulation (1042.4) The Handbook defines, gives examples of harassment and bullying, procedures for filing a complaint, and consequences for intimidating or bullying behavior. FNSBSD, in complying with the NCLB directive for Safe Schools, has been using the Olweus Bully Prevention Program in many of its schools. The goal is to train staff and students on bullying and harassment recognition after surveying to determine the pervasiveness of the problem, and to provide counseling and disciplinary consequences for the behavior.
Conclusion
Bullying has extremely devastating consequences for both the bullier and the person being bullied. During the April 19, 2004 MCHB/National Bullying Prevention Campaign Webcast, Dr. van Dyck, from the Health Resources and Services Administration, stated that bullies were not only more apt to steal and vandalize property, but also to experiment with drugs and alcohol, do poorly in school, and end up in trouble with the law. Furthermore, there’s a very high correlation between being bullied and being convicted for criminal crimes. “60% of boys bullied in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by age 24 and 40% had three or more convictions.” For these reasons, it’s essential that school educators, especially administrators, take steps to prevent and effectively respond to incidents involving bullying and harassment.
What is Bullying?
Webster’s Dictionary states that a bully is "a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker." Almost every one of us can recall witnessing a bullying incident or being the victim of a bully. Many of us have our own personal stories of how being bullied in childhood or adulthood impacted our lives. As educators, we have seen the lifelong negative consequences that bullying causes to our students.
The Purpose of This Website
Years ago many people dismissed the topic and said it was "just a normal part of growing up". Recently, there has been unprecedented attention given to this topic in an effort to prevent suicides and violent revenge on the part of the victims. This website will discuss bullying, harassment, relevant case law and the resources for educators, administrators, and parents.
Studies and Statistics
The 2002 U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education study on “targeted violence” found that 71% of the shooters had felt attacked, threatened, persecuted, injured, or bullied by others. The U.S. Justice Department conducted a study on school shootings in 2006 which stated that two-thirds of the surviving student shooters had previously been bullied.
The 2006 school climate survey entitled Where We Learn by the Urban Student Achievement Task Force of the NSBA Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) found that twenty-five percent of students said they are bullied during the school day. Hutton reported in his article No Rite of Passage: Coming to Grips with Harassment and Bullying,that fifty percent of the 32,000 high school students from the 15 urban school districts in the survey reported seeing students being bullied at least once a month. Half of those students were doubtful that teachers could stop the bullying behavior (2006). The following year's March/April 2007 CUBE Urban Advocate surveyed administrators and found that 38.5% of administrators disagreed with the previous years report. Administrators did not think students were bullied at least once a month at school, and they were more optimistic that they could discourage bullying. Seventy two percent felt they could discourage bullying; but 11.9% felt they could not deter bullying.
Harassment or Bullying?
"Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me." This nursery rhyme could not be further from the truth. Words DO hurt and as educators and administrators we need to help our students and staff understand the damage that words can inflict, and the possible unintended consequences. Stein’s article Words Matter Sweeping serious harassment under the ‘bullying’ rug does students a disservice states that some behavior schools label as bullying is in fact harassment and may be criminal conduct. She advocates teaching the distinction between harassment and bullying so that students understand that harassment and discrimination based on national origin, disability, race, and gender are civil rights violations and therefore protected under federal law. She believes schools should focus less on punishing students in the name of zero tolerance for bullying and focus instead on ensuring equal educational opportunities and protection of student’s civil rights (2006).
Zero Tolerance
While it is critical to ensure that schools are safe places for children to learn, and it’s important to teach children that harassment and bullying are unacceptable, we need to be sure we don’t create more problems by going overboard with a zero tolerance approach. When a first grader calls another first grader “a fat cauliflower head” is that bullying? We’ve already seen too many cases where little children holding hands, giving a hug, or trying to kiss someone are expelled under “zero tolerance” sexual contact rule. Likewise, we’ve seen primary students expelled for bringing a squirt gun to school, and at least one honor Boy Scout student expelled for forgetting to remove his scout knife from his backpack after camping. Common sense and looking at the student’s age, maturity level, and intent must all be factors before discipline is meted out.
Bully Revenge and Bully Suicide
Nationwide there have been many cases of bullied victims taking matters into their own hands by either seeking revenge or committing suicide because they feel no one is paying attention to their plight.
The April 20, 1999 Columbine massacre which left 13 dead and 24 wounded shook America to the core. The recognition that the students’ desperate acts of destruction were partially in response to their feelings of alienation and being bullied is heartbreaking and devastating for all concerned.
Twelve year old Tempest Smith had been bullied and persecuted from second grade on until she no longer could handle the pain and committed suicide in February of 2001.
On September 24, 2003, Jason McLaughlin shot and killed two fellow students in Cold Spring, Minnesota, in retaliation for being harassed, teased and persecuted. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Matt Epling was an eighth grader who was hazed by upperclassmen in a “Welcome to High School” incident on his last day at MacDonald Middle School in 2002. He ended his life about forty days later after enduring threats and just before formal charges were filed with the police. His parents have worked tirelessly to ensure that other parents won’t have to endure their heartache. They’ve worked on establishing the Safe Schools/Safe Communities program and on getting state wide anti- bullying, harassment and hazing legislation passed in Michigan instead of the current “suggestion” that schools adopt such a policy. Currently, “Matt’s Safe School” Senate Bills 275 and 159 and House Bill 4850 have been introduced in the Michigan Legislature.
Daniel Scruggs an extremely bright student, was bullied and tormented in middle school for more than a year. Although many school officials were aware of what was happening, they did not intervene or stop the abuse which included putting “Kick Me” signs on his back, making him eat lunch off of the floor, shoving, and yelling at him. Desperate to avoid school, Daniel soiled himself and refused to bathe. His mother reported that he slept in a small closet with a knife and homemade spear because he was afraid of break-ins. He hung himself in his closet on January 2, 2002. His mother was convicted on one count –“risk of injury to a minor for an unhealthy home environment.” Connecticut has since passed laws requiring schools to maintain anti-bullying policies, and to log and report bullying incidents.
According to her parents, Kristina Calco, was a shy, sensitive fifteen year old. She took her life on December 4, 2005, just 22 days before her sixteenth birthday. Described by friends as a warm, caring, and intelligent girl, Kristina had been bullied, tormented, and harassed by a group of boys since middle school. Although her girl friends treasured her as a friend, the constant harassment at school destroyed her self-esteem and she was desperately unhappy. Unfortunately, none of her friends told a teacher or her parents about the constant bullying; instead they continued to offer her their support and reassurance that she was a beautiful and good person. After her death, her parents read her journals, read the IM messages on her phone, and accessed her My Space account and determined that Kristina decided to end her life because the truly unattainable goals she had set for herself to reach by age 16 hadn’t been accomplished. These goals included being popular, thin, tall, perfect hair and teeth, having a boyfriend, being a varsity cheerleader and maintaining her 4.0 GPA to name just a few. Her mother stated that Kristina chose death as the way to end her unbearable pain.
Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying has become an increasing concern, especially after the suicide deaths of Ryan Halligan and Megan Meier.
Ryan Halligan began being verbally bullied in fifth grade. By the time he was thirteen, he had been so physically bullied at middle school that he took up kickboxing. The bullying escalated to cyberbullying and included non-stop ridiculing and taunting instant messages and e-mails. After telling the same boy who had earlier bullied him, but supposedly now was a friend, about an embarrassing incident, the “friend” started the rumor that Ryan was gay. The taunting escalated. The final straw was when a pretty girl pretended she liked him online, then later told him in front of her friends that said she was joking and that he was a loser. She further humiliated him by copying and pasting the personal messages he had sent her into her friends Instant Messages. Ryan could endure the bullying and taunts no longer, and hung himself on October 7, 2003. His father travels nationwide speaking to teachers and students about the dangers of cyberbullying. Because the cyberbullying included the rumor that Ryan was gay, it can also be considered homophobic bullying.
Megan was thirteen at the time she was harassed on My Space by what she believed was a young man named “Josh.” In reality, “Josh” was the fictitious creation of her teenage neighbor, the teens mom, Lori Drew, and Ashley Grills, an 18 year old employee of Lori’s. Megan, who suffered from depression and ADD, committed suicide in October of 2006 after being harassed and then rejected by “Josh” who said he no longer wanted to remain friends. On November 26, 2008, Lori Drew was convicted in California (home base for My Space) in a landmark cyberbullying case. She was convicted on “three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization.”
Megan’s mom worked tirelessly for two years to get the bill outlawing cyber bullying passed in the Missouri legislature. Missouri governor Matt Blunt signed the bill into law on June 30, 2008. Since it’s passage, at least seven cases of cyber bullying have been filed in Missouri, and eighteen states have passed laws dealing with cyber bullying or cyber-stalking.
Nicole A. Williams, a 21-year-old woman in St. Charles has been charged with misdemeanor harassment for allegedly sending harassing text messages to a 16 or 17 year- old girl who supposedly had had a physical relationship with William’s boyfriend.
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that if speech could be considered “on campus in nature” even if it was created off campus if there was a “sufficient nexus with and disruption of the operation of the school” J. S. v Bethlehem Based on this ruling, students can be disciplined for cyberbullying behavior, even if it is conducted off-campus. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) school officials may be subject to harassment lawsuits under Title IX or to sanctions under state law if they ignore cyberbullying. Based on the Court’s ruling in Vance, 231 F.3d at 260, schools are liable if there is deliberate indifference that causes student’s to undergo’ harassment or ‘make them liable or vulnerable’ to it.
Cyberbullying: Tools and Tips for Prevention and Intervention explains when schools can legally discipline students for cyberbullying when an off-site computer is used. Based on Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District student’s have a right to exercise free speech even if it makes teachers, administrators, and other students angry or annoyed. It is only when the speech or behavior “materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others” that the school can discipline. It must have a “substantial impact” on the educational process. Another issue schools can get into trouble with is the searching of student cell phones for incoming calls and text messages. The webcast explains that students still have their 4th Amendment rights, evidence seized by an illegal search can be suppressed in court which can undermine the judicial system’s ability to prosecute, and that teachers and administrators are “state actors.” It suggests using informed consent (which waives 4th Amendment rights) and determine if the parents or child owns the phone, seize the phone and save it for the police using and established “chain of custody” to prove there has been no tampering, and sealing the phone with a dated seal. It advises that the criminal evidence would be suppressed, but a lawsuit against the district could be prevented if the above actions were followed.
Homophobic Bullying
Homophobic bullying is harassment, teasing, name calling, social exclusion, taunting, gestures, degrading or insulting comments towards someone who is gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender or perceived to be any of the above. When a student’s education is interrupted or discontinued due to such harassment, it is a violation of Title IX and a district may be liable for damages if they are ruled to be deliberately indifferent to known acts of harassment.
Theno v. Tonganoxie Unified School District No. 464
The plaintiff, Dylan J. Theno, left school during his eleventh grade year after enduring four years of harassment beginning in seventh grade. Although he was heterosexual, he was perceived as gay, and was called sexually degrading names, the butt of jokes where he was supposedly caught masturbating in the school bathroom and was pushed, shoved, tripped at school. Although the accusations were untrue, students continued to make him the butt of their jokes. Most of his harassers were given verbal warnings, very few were more severely reprimanded. It was not until his tenth-grade year that the school began to proactively speak to students and teachers about harassment. The court ruled for the student, the district appealed. Again the court held for the Theno and in 2005 the Kansas school district agreed to pay him $440,000.
Jaysen Kettl conspired to torture then kill 20 classmates, teachers and administrators at Vidor High School in Texas in November of 2003 before committing suicide. Jaysen first encountered bullying when he left a gifted program in eighth grade, then it escalated to include sexual harassment once he declared his homosexual orientation . The bullying included name calling, pushing him down the stairs, mocking, and taking his books. Once a bright student doing well in school, he began having difficulty and had to repeat ninth grade. He associated with a group of outcast students, dressing in Goth, and listening to heavy metal music and practicing Satanism. He was sentenced in 2004 to four years in prison and ten years of probation. After a year in confinement, he said, “Jail isn’t bad. I would have liked to be home with my family, but it’s better than high school.”
Although the following case doesn’t involve homophobic bulling, it nonetheless will impact future education cases involving gay or lesbian students and their First Amendment Rights. In Nguon v Wolf, No. 05-868 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 25, 2007) a U.S. district court ruled that Charlene Nguon’s suspension from Santiago High School for inappropriate public display of affection with her girlfriend, and Principal Wolf’s disclosure of Charlene’s sexual preference to her mother did not violate Charlene’s right to equal protection, free speech or privacy. Charlene had claimed her public displays of affection were protected speech under the First Amendment. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morse v. Frederick, the U.S. district court restated that school officials “may restrict student speech that is inconsistent with the school’s basic educational mission, even though the government would lack the authority to restrict similar outside the school environment.” “The prohibition on IPDA did not seek to eliminate ‘expressions of sexuality, or even expressions of gay sexuality’. The court further ruled that Mr. Wolf was exercising a principal’s legal duty to explain and inform parents of disciplinary measures, so therefore did not violate Charlene’s rights to privacy. Additionally, he had personal immunity since he was performing his duty as a public official.
State and District Response
Alaska law AS 14.33.125 prohibits harassment, intimidation, or bullying on or immediately adjacent to school property, at school-sponsored activities, and on school-provided transportation including at official school bus stops. School districts must have policies in place and posted, and as funds permit, training for staff must take place. The policy must also include a statement that prohibits reprisal against someone reporting harassment, intimidating, or bullying behavior and consequences if someone tries to retaliate. Provisions for false reporting are also to be included.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s 2008-09 Student Rights, Responsibilities & Behavioral Consequences Handbook states: “Students have a right to be safe at school and learn in a stimulating, inclusive, safe learning community in which they take intellectual risks and work independently and collaboratively. Students are expected to contribute to the maintenance of a safe learning community by reporting to school administrators or other school staff when they are aware of a dangerous object or activity that could disrupt or threaten school safety” (p. 21). The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has a non-discrimination policy (School Board Policy 1011) which was amended this past fall to include gender orientation in addition to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, and sexual orientation. Racial and sexual harassment are addressed in Administrative Regulation 1011, Board Policy, and Administrative Regulation 1012.1. Excerpts are included in the 2008-09 Student Rights, Responsibilities & Behavioral Consequences Handbook. In addition, intimidating or bullying behavior is prohibited by School Board Policy and Administrative Regulation (1042.4) The Handbook defines, gives examples of harassment and bullying, procedures for filing a complaint, and consequences for intimidating or bullying behavior. FNSBSD, in complying with the NCLB directive for Safe Schools, has been using the Olweus Bully Prevention Program in many of its schools. The goal is to train staff and students on bullying and harassment recognition after surveying to determine the pervasiveness of the problem, and to provide counseling and disciplinary consequences for the behavior.
Conclusion
Bullying has extremely devastating consequences for both the bullier and the person being bullied. During the April 19, 2004 MCHB/National Bullying Prevention Campaign Webcast, Dr. van Dyck, from the Health Resources and Services Administration, stated that bullies were not only more apt to steal and vandalize property, but also to experiment with drugs and alcohol, do poorly in school, and end up in trouble with the law. Furthermore, there’s a very high correlation between being bullied and being convicted for criminal crimes. “60% of boys bullied in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by age 24 and 40% had three or more convictions.” For these reasons, it’s essential that school educators, especially administrators, take steps to prevent and effectively respond to incidents involving bullying and harassment.