Why Schools Lose Lawsuits Over Bullying

All Sawyer wanted to do was protect himself from bullies and mean kids in middle school. He wrote to his guidance counselor, “I want to let you know that the bullying has increased. I would like to figure out some coping mechanisms to deal with these situations, and I would just like to put this on file so that if something happens again, we can show that there were past bullying situations.”

Three months later, he was punched so hard that he now has paraplegia.

I’ve often seen this in my work providing expert testimony and consultations to attorneys, schools, and parents regarding bullying lawsuits and school liability matters. Kids are crying out for help: “How can I get the bullies to go away?” Many of these children end up hiding out and becoming socially isolated, afraid of being bullied or harassed. Unfortunately for Sawyer, the school didn’t listen to his cry for help, and now it is paying the price.

I was an expert witness in this bullying case, and I can tell you that $4.2 million is no compensation for the life Sawyer will now live. If there’s one thing I want schools and parents to learn from this lawsuit, it is that when kids ask for help, there is a reason. Follow up and find out what’s going on. Listen to your students and kids when they come to you.

When I presented at a law conference a few years ago, I brought a student who was the victim of bullying. Patrick was beaten and taunted in school for months — and nothing changed even after talking with his guidance counselor several times. We spoke before a room full of school administrators, teachers, and lawyers. After his heartfelt presentation, one of the administrators asked, “If there is one thing you would have liked your school to do differently, what would it have been?”

He said, “Listen. Listen when a student comes to you and says he is being bullied. That would have made the difference for me.”

A recent news report told the story of a principal who didn’t follow up when a parent came to him to report that his daughter was being bullied. A few days later, several of her antagonists severely beat her. When asked why he didn’t follow up when he knew about the bullying, the principal said, “It slipped my mind.” As a principal, I know an administrator’s day can be hectic. But student safety is a top priority. A principal can’t fall back on the excuse that they forgot to follow up.

Bullying Lawsuits on the Rise

More and more bullying cases have parents turning to courts and schools defending their actions. Parents in Texas, convinced their 13-year-old son’s suicide was the result of daily bullying by peers and inaction on the part of school officials, filed a $20 million federal lawsuit against the school. This is but one of a growing number of civil court actions being taken against schools for allegedly ignoring bullying.

The number of bullying lawsuits is on the rise for several reasons: increased awareness, new standards, and more experts in the legal community. Today, people are more likely to know about bullying and feel that they have to report it, and when kids are injured or commit suicide, the process of a lawsuit often brings out answers. High-profile bullying cases around the country have caused states to strengthen their existing anti-bullying laws or to pass new laws. This has placed a legal focus on the issue of bullying.

Why Schools Are Paying the Price

Schools continue to incur significant losses due to legal claims, damages, or settlements arising from bullying lawsuits. These serious civil court actions are primarily the result of schools breaching the standards of care and ignoring or falling short of their legal and ethical responsibilities of upholding and protecting students’ rights.

Schools are expected to create a safe, inclusive learning environment and take practical and proactive steps to anticipate, prevent, or respond to bullying incidents. This includes establishing robust anti-bullying policies that comprehensively outline unacceptable conduct, procedures for reporting, and consequences, as well as optimizing their practices.

Parents who file bullying lawsuits against the school allege that their child was a victim of bullying because the school did not follow the professional standard of care. Even with strong policies, a school can still violate professional standards and anti-bullying laws through poor implementation. Furthermore, a careless, delayed, indifferent, or dismissive response to bullying complaints constitutes negligence. It can perpetuate bullying and student harm and promote a hostile learning environment.

When a bullying lawsuit is filed, the school looks closely at its policies and procedures. It is also forced to examine what it knew about the alleged incidents, how it responded, and whether its response was appropriate. In a sense, this is a good exercise for a school — but being forced to do so in defense of civil court actions shouldn’t be the norm. Schools should routinely examine these things as part of developing a climate that doesn’t accept bullying and makes kids feel safe and secure. By doing so, they can identify and mitigate issues before they escalate in costly bullying lawsuits.

As an education expert who has provided consultation and expert testimony on bullying cases nationwide, I have reviewed school policies and what the administration knew about a bullying situation. In many situations, I have found that, under the circumstances, the school met the professional standard of care. Often, a school doesn’t know about bullying instances. It can’t respond if it doesn’t have that knowledge. If the school has an appropriate anti-bullying policy that meets professional standards and anti-bullying laws — and if the school follows its policy in light of what information it has — then, more than likely, the school will survive a bullying lawsuit.

If, on the other hand — as I have testified to in many cases — the school administration had information about a bullying situation, knew that a bully’s behavior was problem but didn’t follow its policies or the professional standard of care under the circumstances, and a student was injured, then the plaintiff will have a strong position in a bullying lawsuit.

Attorneys should review these cases with a team that offers education expert witness services, who will:

• Review the school’s policies to determine whether they meet professional and legal standards of care and anti-bullying laws.
• Review the files of the bully and the victim to determine whether anything in the record should cause a reasonable school administrator to be concerned that the bully might injure the victim and to determine whether the victim asked for help.
• Render an expert testimony or opinion on whether the school met the professional standard of care and, if not, whether any breach of that standard led to the student’s injury.

What Does This Teach Us?

Sawyer’s lawsuit reminds us that bullying can be costly. Sometimes, expensive settlements make us realize that we can’t be complacent and can provide important lessons.

The lessons for schools:

• We must continuously work toward developing a school climate in which diversity is welcomed, tolerance is part of the culture, and children feel safe.
• When a student reports being bullied, follow up promptly and effectively. Don’t let the report sit on your desk while attendance forms are filled out—a student’s life could be in danger!
• Encourage open communication so students, parents, and staff can confidently report bullying incidents, feel heard and protected, and not worry about retaliation.
• Train staff to recognize bullying and intervene promptly and appropriately to prevent student harm and costly lawsuits

Lessons for parents:

• Be aware of any unusual behavior in your child; your child might be a victim of bullying.
• Get whatever information you can, and call the school.
• If your child asks for help, contact the school to be sure he’s getting it.

Lesson for kids:

• When you are being bullied, ask for help from a teacher or counselor — and if you don’t get it, go to the principal and let your parents know what’s going on.
• Check out the numerous websites and read books dedicated to helping kids who are victims of bullying.
• Above all, don’t despair — there’s lots of help out there!

Conclusion

We all need to be more diligent when eliminating the scourge of bullying. Schools should develop a climate of acceptance where bullying is never allowed. Parents, be aware of the signs that your child might be bullied or might be the bully. Kids, if you see someone else being bullied, stand up for that person and don’t be a bystander. Working together, we can reduce the toll that bullying takes on our children and society. Schools that violate the professional standard of care and ignore or fall short of their responsibilities outlined in anti-bullying laws risk serious civil court actions.

Engage the School Liability Expert Group for bullying lawsuits and other school liability matters. Hundreds of law firms have trusted our education expert witness team for expert testimony, comprehensive reports, and thorough, prompt, highly individualized consultations. Our experts are highly proficient in anti-bullying laws and the professional standard of care. Book a call today for more information on how we can help with your bullying case.