Dept. of Justice announces settlement in bullying case

The U.S. Department of Justice says it has reached an out of court settlement with the Mohawk Central School District in New York State over ant-gay and gender related bullying incidents there. This is the first time the federal government has intervened in a lawsuit related to bullying.

A press release from the DOJ alleges the following:

On Jan. 14, 2010, in the Northern District of New York, the United States sought to join a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a student, J.L., who was the alleged victim of severe and pervasive student-on-student harassment based on sex. According to the United States’ motion, J.L. failed to conform to gender stereotypes in both behavior and appearance. He exhibited feminine mannerisms, dyed his hair, wore makeup and nail polish, and maintained predominantly female friendships. The United States alleged that the harassment against J.L. escalated from derogatory name-calling to physical threats and violence.

The United States further alleged that the Mohawk Central School District had knowledge of the harassment, that the school district was deliberately indifferent in its failure to take timely, corrective action, and that the deliberate indifference restricted J.L.’s ability to fully enjoy the educational opportunities and benefits of his school. The district denied these allegations.

That release further states the specifics of the settlement to be:

(1) retain an expert consultant in the area of harassment and discrimination based on sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation to review the District’s policies and procedures;
(2) develop and implement a comprehensive plan for disseminating the District’s harassment and discrimination policies and procedures;
(3) retain an expert consultant to conduct annual training for faculty and staff, and students as deemed appropriate by the expert, on discrimination and harassment based on sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation;
(4) maintain records of investigations and responses to allegations of harassment for five years; and
(5) provide annual compliance reports to the United States and private plaintiffs.
As part of this settlement, $50,000 will be paid to J.L. and $25,000 in attorneys’ fees will be paid to the New York Civil Liberties Foundation.

Michigan Safe School advocates responded to the ruling with a renewed call for action by the state legislature. The state Senate has for months bottlenecked legislation which would require Michigan school districts to have anti-bullying legislation in place and enforced.

In an e-mailed statement from Alicia Skillman, executive director of Triangle Foundation, an advocacy group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, said:

Triangle Foundation recognizes this case settlement as a huge step in the right direction to protect all children in the Mohawk Central School District. Michigan legislators and school districts need to take similar action for the safety of students in our state. There was a recent suicide by a bright student in the U.P. who was being harassed and bullied. Our communities suffer a great loss every time a child succumbs to bullycide.

Kevin Epling, co-director of BullyPolice USA — whose son, Matt, the law is named after — had this to say.

Honestly I am to the point that I don’t think our legislators are paying attention to any messages sent their way, from both outside or inside the state. They are shining examples of what I call “The Ostrich Principle” as long as its ignored it doesn’t exist. Years of input, research and sadly the loss of life has not seemed to phase our legislators.

When parents have to withdraw children from schools and lawsuits have to be filed there are issues to be seriously looked at. Our legislators have expressed graduation requirements, mandated the use of a helmet, where people can and cannot smoke, but they falter at mandating safe schools (as 42 other states have)? There is something seriously wrong with this picture.

The ruling comes as lawmakers had planned to meet to set a schedule for moving on Michigan legislation. However, that planned meeting between Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) and Ron Jelink (R-Three Oaks Twp.) never happened. What that time-frame looks like is unknown, but Jelinek has told Messenger in the past that the legislation should be approved by the end of 2010′s legislative session.