Bullying & Cyberbullying:
What Educators and Board
Members Need to Know
Karen Haase
Harding & Shultz
(402) 434-3000
[email protected]
H & S School Law
@KarenHaase
Bullying?
“any ongoing pattern of physical, verbal,
or electronic abuse on school grounds, in
a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by
a school being used for a school purpose
by a school employee or his or her
designee, or at school-sponsored
activities or school-sponsored athletic
events.”
Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying, v: the use of technology
such as computers and cell phones to
engage in repeated, and hostile behavior
by an individual or group, that is
intended to harm others.
The term "cyberbullying" is used when the victim or bully is a
child or teen. The term cyber harassment is used when the
Is This Really a Problem?
 1 in 4 kids admit to being cyberbullied
 65% of kids know someone being
cyberbullied
 22% of teens have been cyber pranked
 29% of teens admit that they have posted
mean info about someone else
 24% of teens have had private or
embarrassing information revealed
against their will
Is This Really a Problem?
 86% of teenagers have been stalked by a
stranger on their Facebook account.
 55% of teens admit they’ve given
personal information to someone they do
not know
 30% of teens have arranged to meet in
person someone they met on social media
Isn’t this a Parent Issue?
 47% of parents admit that they “do
little or nothing” to monitor online
 67% of teenagers say they know how to
hide what they do online from parents.
 43% of teens say they would change
their online behavior if they knew that
their parents were watching them.
 39% of teens think their online activity
is private from everyone
Bullying Litigation
Patterson v. Hudson Area Sch. Dist.
(6th Cir. 2010)
 Student viewed by peers as gay
 Middle school: name calling and
verbal harassment.
 high school:
• pushed into lockers
• “a naked student rubbing against
him” in a locker room.
Patterson v. Hudson Area Sch. Dist.
(6th Cir. 2010)
 School had anti-bullying policy
 On some occasions bullies reported
and punished; other times teachers
ignored
 One teacher: “How does it feel to be
hit by a girl?”
 Jury awarded $800,000
Phillips v. Robertson County Bd.
(Tenn. Ct. App. 2012)
 Student with Asperger syndrome
• Private counselor sent letter
• Parent constantly reporting bullying
and asking for help
• School developed system for kid
• Preferential seating
• Card system to signal when feeling
bullied or stressed
Phillips v. Robertson County Bd.
(Tenn. Ct. App. 2012)
 Teacher left student classroom
unsupervised
• Student struck in the eye by bully
• Sustained permanent damage
 Teacher testified
• Didn’t know about disability
• Didn’t know about accommodations
 Court ordered $300,000 judgment
Estate of Lance v. Kyer
(Texas 2010)
 9 year old boy with disabilities
hanged himself in school restroom
after being bullied
 Parents sued claiming disability
discrimination
 Court: district personnel had a
consistent policy of ignoring bullying
against all students, so no
discrimination
Kendall v. West Haven Dep’t. of Ed.
(Conn. 2000)
 Elementary special ed student
injured by another student
• Parents called and reported prior
incidents to assistant principal
• Assistant principal said she would take
care of it
• Assistant principal then called out of
building
Kendall v. West Haven Dep’t. of Ed.
(Conn. 2000)
 The student seriously injured when
the bully attacked him in the school
cafeteria.
 Court awarded $67,000 in damages
 Found the assistant principal
personally liable
G.M v. Dryceek Joint Elem. Sch.
(Cal. 2012)
 Student bullied 5 times in 6 months
• After first incident teacher said she’d
watch the situation
• After similar incident teacher and
counselor met with bullies
• Assistant principal met with bullies
• Bully punched victim in face and
received 5-day suspension
G.M v. Dryceek Joint Elem. Sch.
(Cal. 2012)
 Court: school officials took action
aimed at stopping the harassment
each time
 Deliberate indifference requires that
district know of harm and failed to
act
Los Angeles Unif. Sch. Dist.,
(2006)
 SpEd Student bullied and
cyberbullied
 Teacher knew of on-line comments;
did nothing, posted on one page
 OCR: “…the teacher's actions and
inactions created a hostile
environment for the Student based
on disability.”
Fairfield-Suisun Unif Sch Dist
(Cal. Dep’t Ed. 2012)
 Student threatened to torture and
kill peer
 School expelled
 Staff had expressed concerns over
student’s disturbing behavior before
 ALJ concluded that the district
should have conducted an MD
review prior to expelling him
Rose Tree Media Sch. Dist.
(PA 2010)
 Middle school student found not
eligible for SpEd; parent filed DP
 Parents complained
• peers posting insults Facebook
• peers regularly taunted at school
• Peers pushed and splashed water on
him
Rose Tree Media Sch. Dist.
(PA 2010)
 School
• Investigated incidents
• Student extremely sensitive and
misinterpreted normal interactions
• found him ineligible for an IEP
 H.O: school should have considered
• disability made student a target
• emotional difficulties caused
misinterpretation of others' actions
Rosario v. Clark County Sch. Dist.
(D. Nev. 2013)
 Basketball student tweeted after last
game of the season
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
[Principal] is a bitch
I hope coach brown gets f*cked in the *ss by 10
black dicks
Now I can tweet whatever I want and I hope one
of ya’al m*therf*ckers snitch on me
F*ck coach brown’s bitch *ss
Finally this b*tch season is over
Oh yeah and [AD]’s square *ss
And [assistant coach] is a p*ssy *ss n*gg* tryin
to talk sh*t
Rosario v. Clark County Sch. Dist.
(D. Nev. 2013)
 Targeted staff filed discipline
complaints and “victim impact
statements” against student
 Student was suspended and
eventually assigned to a different
high school
 Student sued
Rosario v. Clark County Sch. Dist.
(D. Nev. 2013)
 First Amendment Claims
• Student argued free speech
• School argued no protection because
content obscene
 Court:
• Only one tweet “obscene”
• Punished for all tweets
• Must establish that this speech caused
material and substantial disruption
Rosario v. Clark County Sch. Dist.
(D. Nev. 2013)
 Fourth Amendment Claims
• Student claimed unlawful search of
twitter account
 Court:
• No “search”
• No expectation of privacy
• Poster assumes risk that remarks will
be made public
Rosario v. Clark County Sch. Dist.
(D. Nev. 2013)
 Assault and Battery Claims
• Coach threw basketball in student’s
face
• Assistant coach supported
 Court:
• Basketball players assume risk of
normal physical contact, not
basketballs thrown in face
Cyber/bullying Responses




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Keep “Responding and Reporting”
separate in your mind (and your
staff’s mind)
Focus on Small Stuff
DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT,
DOCUMENT
Look for nexus
Don’t make promises you can’t keep
Helping Kids Deal; Tell them to:

Stop. Don’t respond to the bully.

Block. Block the cyberbully or
limit all communications to those
you can trust.

Tell. Tell a trusted adult.
Does Victim Need Interventions?

Interventions
• Social skill training
• Hygiene training with, sped
teacher, counselor or other staff
• Peer mentor
 Be ready for a 504 or SpEd
request
Bullying & Cyberbullying:
What Educators and Board
Members Need to Know
Karen Haase
Harding & Shultz
(402) 434-3000
[email protected]
H & S School Law
@KarenHaase