According to recent news reports, a New Jersey school district has agreed to pay $9.1 million to the parents of a middle school student who took her own life after being bullied in school and online in 2017.
Similar lawsuits against school districts concerning bullying have been making headlines in recent months, with some resulting in multimillion dollar settlements in favor of parents and families.
Below we look at in the applicability to Pennsylvania school districts and discuss proactive measures school districts can implement to help avoid legal trouble.
In the New Jersey case, the parents filed suit against Rockaway Township School District and other parties in state court in 2018, alleging that their 12-year-old daughter’s death was caused by “ongoing and systemic bullying,” including cyberbullying through Snapchat.
The parents claimed school officials failed to prevent the bullying despite the repeated complaints they made to the school district.
Pennsylvania’s Safe Schools Act requires schools to have an anti-bullying policy that includes disciplinary consequences for such behavior. The policy must designate a school employee to receive reports of bullying and include procedures for reporting bullying incidents.
The law defines bullying as “an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, or a series of acts” that targets another student and occurs in a school setting. To be considered bullying, the behavior must be “severe, persistent, or pervasive” and have the effect of “substantially interfering with a student’s education” or “creating a threatening environment.”
Importantly, the law states that a school district is not prohibited from defining bullying in a way that extends to acts that take place outside a school setting if those acts satisfy the definition of bullying.
Pennsylvania courts have not issued many rulings dealing with bullying.
Notably, in 2018, the Philadelphia Court Common Pleas awarded $500,000 to a student who was a victim of bullying over nine years that went unaddressed by school officials. However, in that case, the parent sued the school district under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act because many of the incidents were related to the student’s gender presentation.
No federal law addresses bullying, but federal law could apply if there is discriminatory harassment based on race, disability, religion, or another protected class.
Bottom Line for Schools
Since the pandemic and a return to in-person instruction, school districts have seen an increase in behavioral and misconduct issues in students.
The New Jersey case and other cases across the country should prompt Pennsylvania school districts to review their anti-bullying policies. School districts are required to review their anti-bullying policies every three years under the law. For example, an anti-bullying policy should contain definitions of bullying, disciplinary consequences, and reporting procedures.
School districts should continue to stress bullying prevention and response to their school employees and ensure all school employees are aware of their respective anti-bullying policies and procedures.
Reports of bullying and cyberbullying should be taken seriously by promptly and thoroughly investigating them and enacting safety plans for victims. School officials should document all aspects of the incident, including the initial report, the investigation, and the response.
School leaders with questions should contact their school solicitor or one of the Education attorneys at KingSpry.
