Bullying And Cyberbullying - You Must Report It To The School
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Bullying at school is certainly in the news. Just this week another twelve year old leapt to her death after allegedly being bullied for a year . This is a tragedy. Will the school district be liable? We shall see. The fact bullying and cyberbullying occur alone are not enough for school districts to be liable. Rather, a school or district official who has the power to address bullying must have actual knowledge of the bullying and/or harassment which is occurring . If bullying goes on but no one tells an administrator who can do something about it, or no official witnesses the bullying, liability may not lie (see the U. S. Supreme Court cases Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education and Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District ). Bullying can have dreadful effects. It can lead to suicide, murder, isolation, failures in school and other nega...