Bullying & Harassment

According to stopbullying.gov, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-age children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and intentionally excluding someone from a group. Bullying often occurs because of a child’s physical on learning disability, sexual orientation, physical appearance or other unlawful criteria.

Generally, children who are bullied have one or more of the following risk factors:

• Are perceived as “different” from their peers
  
• Are perceived as weak or unable to defend themselves
  
• Are depressed, anxious, or have low self esteem
  
• Are less popular than others and have few friends
  
• Do not get along well with others, seen as annoying or provoking, or antagonize others for attention
  

School staff, parents, and other adults must play an important role in preventing and properly and timely responding to all forms of bullying. State law in Pennsylvania provides protection to all students who are subject to school bullying. If a student with a disability is being bullied, federal law requires schools to take immediate and appropriate action to investigate the issue and take the necessary steps to stop the bullying and prevent it from recurring. Regardless of whether the student is being bullied based on a disability, schools must remedy the effects of bullying and the interference with the special education services that the student with a disability receives to ensure the student continues to receive a free appropriate public education.

Despite state and federal law that is designed to protect children, bullying occurs on a daily basis in schools throughout the United States. Many children are afraid to go to school. Our attorneys get involved quickly and take the necessary action to help end the bullying and in certain cases to hold the school accountable for damages. If your child has been bullied at school or been the victim of cyber-bullying or harassment, we want to help.