Bullying 101

Presented by John Dorris and Joanne Wilson
101
Image from http://ok.gov/sde/faqs/bullying-
frequently-asked-questions

What is bullying?
• 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.
Information from stop bullying.gov

What specifically
makes an act bullying?
• An imbalance of power
• Repetition

Types of bullying
• Verbal bullying
• I.E. teasing, name calling, inappropriate
sexual comments, taunting, or threats
• Social bullying
• Damaging someone's reputation or
relationships
• Physical bullying

With technology came
a new type of bully

• Cyberbullying is defined as
bullying that takes place using
electronic technology.
• Electronic technology
• Devices and equipment
includes cell phones,
computers, and tablets
• Communication tools
include social media, text
messages, chat, videos,
and websites
Image from http://new-wineskins.org/blog/2012/12/cyber-
bullying/

• It can happen anytime and without witnesses
• It can be done anonymously and dispersed
quickly making it almost impossible to trace
• It's hard to remove
• The statistics of kids being cyberbullied is
increasing rapidly
• It's become easier to bully; the bully can hide
behind a computer

Now you see it, now you don’t.
• New and emerging technologies make it easier
to bully students without parents or care-givers
realizing it is happening.
• Most people are familiar with MySpace,
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Have they heard of Ask.fm, Kik, Voxer, or
Snapchat? Each is free, and they allow
anonymous or fictitious profiles.

New Routes for Cyber-Bullying
• Ask.fm
– Users can create a profile and let people ask them
questions.
• Why aren’t you dead? Why are you still alive?
• Kik and Voxer
– Smartphone messenger programs
• Snapchat
– Allows the sender to set a time limit for how long
recipients can view the photo, test, or video message

Bullying isn't just for
kids anymore
• Although we use other terms, these are still
forms of bullying
• Hazing
• Harassment
• Stalking

Workplace Bullying
• It's not simple
constructive criticism
• It's persistent
• It's personal
• And it's hard to
explain so many
ignore it
Information from www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/bullying/adult-bullying

• Every 7 minutes a child is bullied; 85% of the
time, there is no intervention of any kind
• Each day, 160,000 students miss school due to
bullying
• Bullying is a leading factor in suicide among kids
11-16 years old
• By age 24, 60% of bullies have been charged
with a crime
• 34% of all children report being bullied regularly
at least several times a year
• 86% of children aged 12-15 report at least some
form of bullying has interfered with their studies
moderately or severely

• 43% of middle school children avoid the
bathroom and locker rooms at all costs due to
certainty of being bullied.
• 1 of every 4 children is more than occasionally
cyber-bullied.
• More 25 million families are currently
traumatized by bullying in the U.S. today
• When polled, 98% of students indicated that they
want teachers to intervene.
• According to a 2011 Harvard School of Health
Study, male bullies are nearly four times as likely
as non-bullies to grow up to physically or
sexually abuse their female partners.

• In schools where there are anti-bullying
programs, bullying is reduced by 50%
• Bullying was a factor in 2/3 of the 37 school
shootings reviewed by the US Secret Service
• Recent bullying studies have found that
schools that had a more intense bullying
atmosphere, passing rates on standardized
tests in such subjects as algebra, earth
science and world history were 3 to 6% lower
Information from http://www.sears.com/anti-bullying-statistics/dap-120000000283435

Estimated Florida Statistics
• Population: 15,982,378
• 16.9 – 2,701,022 children of School age 5 to 18
• Victims: 204,467
• Victims/Bullies: 42,676
• Bullies: 195,014
• Total est. involved in bullying: 442,157
Information from http://www.bullypolice.org/BullyingNumbers.pdf

Whose at risk to be bullied?
• Those who are seen as
different:
• Overweight or
Underweight
• Glasses
• Clothing
• New to school
• Not able to have "cool"
things
• Those seen as weak
Photo from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9843997/Childre
n-bullied-because-of-their-wealthy-backgrounds-
study-finds.html

Groups at risk for being bullied
• LGBT youth
• Those with disabilities or special health needs
• Those of different race, ethnicities or national origins
• Those of different religions or faiths
• Those not as popular
• Those who don't always get along with others
• Those that are depressed, anxious, or have low self
esteem

Whose at risk to become a bully?
• Those more well connected, more popular,
those concerned about being popular, and
those who like power
• Those who are isolated, depressed, anxious,
have low self esteem, less involved, easily
pressured, or can't identify with someone
else's feelings
• Those more aggressive or frustrated

Who is at Risk to Become a Bully?
• Those with issues at home or lack parental
involvement
• Those that think bad of others
• Those who struggle with rules
• Those who idolize violence
• Those with bullies as friends

Signs that someone is being bullied
• Unexplainable injuries
• Lost or destroyed stuff
• Frequent headaches, stomach
aches, feeling sick, or faking illness
• Changes in eating habits
• Problems sleeping or frequent
nightmares

Signs that someone is being bullied
• Slipping grades, loss of interest in school, or
avoiding school
• Sudden loss of friends or avoiding social
situations
• Feelings of helplessness or lowered self
esteem
• Self destructive behavior

Spotting a bully
• Got into physical or verbal fights
• Have bullies as friends
• Increasingly aggressive
• Sent to the principals office or detention frequently
• Unexplained extra money or new belongings
• Blame others for their problems
• Refuses to accept responsibility for actions
• Competitive
• Worried about popularity or reputation

The Effects
• Those bullied are more likely to:
• Experience depression, anxiety, sadness,
loneliness, changes in eating and sleeping,
and loss of interest
• Health issues
• Slipping grades or performance

The Effects
• Bullies are more likely to:
• Abuse alcohol and other drugs throughout life
• Get into fights, damage property, and drop out
of school
• Engage in early sexual activity
• Commit crimes
• Become abusive

The information comes from the article "Inside the Bullied Brain" by
Emily Anthes, published 11/28/10 in The Boston Globe.
The Bullied Brain
• Neuroscientists are finding neurological
evidence of peer-on-peer victimization,
resembling the same effects evidenced by
survivors of childhood physical or sexual
abuse.
• Emotional abuse from peer turns out to be as
damaging to mental health as emotional abuse
from parents.

The Bullied Brain
• Brain scans reveal abnormalities in the corpus
callosum, the bundle of fibers that connect the left and
right hemispheres of the brain, which is important in
visual processing and memory.
• The fibers in the corpus callosum also had less
myelin, the coating that speeds communication
between the cells.
• Research continues into how this translates into
cognitive performance.

The Bullied Brain
• Researchers found bullying leads to increased levels of
cortisol, a hormone produced during times of stress, in
males.
• Bullied girls apparently have abnormally lower levels of
cortisol. Researchers suggest bullied girls may be
chronically stressed resulting in the body learning to make
less of it.
• High levels of cortisol can kill neurons in the hippocampus
leading to memory problems and ultimately poor academic
performance.
• High levels of cortisol can further suppress the immune
system.

Although most do not
resort to this, some will
take their own lives.

This is Megan Meier
• She was 13. She loved dogs
and swimming. She was a
heavy girl.
• In the third grade, she was
counseled for suicidal
tendencies.
• But she was doing better.
She was starting a new
school.
Information and photo from http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/megansStory.php.

Megan Meier
• She was on MySpace. And so was Josh.
• She begged to be allowed to have a MySpace
account. Only her mom and dad had the
password. Her mom monitored her account.
• Megan's mom let Megan friend Josh who
requested to be her friend. She thought he
was hot. She thought he was 16.

Megan Meier
• They talked until one day he wrote her "I don't
know if I want to be friends with you anymore
because I've heard that you are not very nice
to your friends."
• Megan frantically wrote him back to see why
he said that.
• October 16, 2006, Megan came home from
school and asked her mom to let her on
MySpace to see if Josh responded.
Information from http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/megansStory.php.

Megan Meier
• Megan's mom was in a hurry. She logged
Megan on and it wasn't long before Megan
was upset.
• In a rush, Megan's mom told her to log off. But
Megan was crying. Megan's mom left but it
wasn't long before Megan called her. People
were posting things about her. They called her
a slut. They called her fat. Her mom was mad
at Megan for not logging off.

Megan Meier
• Megan's mom came home and saw the responses
her daughter was sending to the people. Megan's
mom was so angry at Megan for her actions.
• Megan ran upstairs and ran into her dad. He
asked what happened and she explained. He said
it would be OK. And she went to her room.
• Megan's mom and dad went to the kitchen to
make dinner while discussing what happened.

Megan Meier
• Megan's mom froze mid sentence and ran
upstairs.
• Megan had hung herself in the closet.
• She died the next day.
• Josh's last message to Megan said "The world
would be a better place without you."

Megan Meier
• Weeks later they discovered something horrible.
• Josh wasn't 16. He wasn't even real. He was the
family member of a former friend of Megan's. Lori
Drew was 47.
• The woman was convicted in a California federal
court of three misdemeanors, but a judge
overturned the conviction.
• Missouri now has the Megan Meier cyberbullying
law.

This is Tyler Clementi
• Tyler was 18. He loved music
and played the violin.
• Tyler was gay and came out
in high school, although it
was very hard for him.
• Tyler attended Rutgers
University. He was excited
and yearning for freedom.
Information and photo from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tyler_clementi/index.html and http://www.tylerclementi.org/tylers-story/.

• But his roommate, Dharun Ravi, used a
webcam to spy on Tyler. And one day, he
recorded Tyler with another man in their room.
Ravi invited others to join in to watch.
• Tyler found out what happened and
discovered that Ravi intended to do it again.
• Tyler logged on to Twitter and found he was a
popular topic on Ravi's Twitter feed. Ravi and
others were mocking him, calling him names.
Information from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tyler_clementi/index.html and http://www.tylerclementi.org/tylers-story/.

• A few days later he threw himself off of the
George Washington Bridge.
• Ravi was charged with 15 counts, including
bias intimidation and invasion of privacy. He
was not charged for Tyler's death.
• Ravi was found guilty on all counts.
Information from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tyler_clementi/index.html and http://www.tylerclementi.org/tylers-story/.

It’s Everywhere.
It's hitting close to home.

This is Hope Witsell
• She was 13.
• Hope sent a nude photo of
herself to a boy.
• It was spread around her
school, Beth Shields Middle
School in Ruskin and beyond.
• They attacked her on
MySpace.
• They harassed her during
school hours.

This is Hope Witsell
• On September 12, 2009,
Hope’s mom found her
hanging by a pink scarf from
her canopy bed.
• And days after her death,
people were still posting on
her Facebook and Myspace
cruel messages.

This is Rebecca Sedwick
• She was 14.
• They started bullying her last
December. That's when her
mom found she had slashed
her wrists.
• She was hospitalized and
counseled for 3 days.
• When she went back to
school, some girl wanted to
fight her.

Rebecca Sedwick
• Her mom pulled her out of
school, homeschooled her,
deleted her Facebook, took
away her cell and tried to
keep track of Rebecca's
social media use.
• She went to a new school this
fall. She got her cell back and
downloaded new apps.

• And the bullying started back up again.
• On September 9, 2013, Rebecca's mom saw
Rebecca's texting.
• Not long after, Rebecca jumping from a tower at
an abandoned cement plant near her home in
Lakeland.
• Police are still going through her social media, but
they have arrested two of the young women that
bullied Rebecca and are investigating their
parents to find out what they knew and when.
Information and photo from http://wlrn.org/post/rise-cyberbullying-case-rebecca-sedwick and http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-77430274/

Although bullying isn't
the sole cause of those
who take their lives,
you can see how it is a
large factor.

Federal Law
Although no federal law directly addresses
bullying, in some cases, bullying overlaps with
discriminatory harassment when it is based on
race, national origin, color, sex, age, disability, or
religion. When bullying and harassment overlap,
federally-funded schools (including colleges and
universities) have an obligation to resolve the
harassment.
When the situation is not adequately resolved,
the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for
Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s
Civil Rights Division may be able to help.Information from stop bullying.gov

Applicable Federal Laws
A school that fails to respond appropriately to
harassment of students based on a protected
class may be violating one or more civil rights
laws enforced by the Department of
Education and the Department of Justice.

Applicable Federal Laws
Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities
Act
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

State and Local Law
State and local lawmakers have taken action to
prevent bullying and protect children. Through
laws (in their state education codes and
elsewhere) and model policies (that provide
guidance to districts and schools), each state
addresses bullying differently.
South Dakota marked the 49th state to pass an
anti-bullying law

Title IX and Student
Harassment
• Davis Next Friend LaShonda D. v. Monroe County
Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999).
• Title IX does create a private right cause of
action in cases of student-on-student
harassment.
• However, liability is limited to very specific
circumstances.

Davis Next Friend LaShonda D. v. Monroe
County Board of Education
• Does the Title IX recipient exercise substantial control over
the environment where harassment occurs and over the
parties, AND
• Is the funding recipient deliberately indifferent to the sexual
harassment, of which the recipient has actual knowledge,
AND
• The harassment is so severe, pervasive, and objectively
offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access
to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the
school.

Title IX and Student Harassment
• Hawkins v. Sarasota County School Board,
322 F.3d 1279 (11th Cir. 2003).
– Parents and guardians of three 2nd
grade students
brought action under Title IX alleging daughters
were the victims of sexual harassment by
another 2nd
grade student.

Hawkins v. Sarasota County School Board
• The Facts
– Jane Doe I, II, and III were eight-year-old girls at
North Toledo Blade Elementary School.
– John Doe, also eight, joined the class after being
expelled from a private school for striking a female
student.
– John Doe allegedly made numerous sexual gestures,
inappropriately grabbed the girls in the lunch room
and at bus stops, and repeatedly made lewd sexual
comments to each of the girls.

• School officials deny ever witnessing the
alleged inappropriate behavior
• The class room teacher denied witnessing
or being notified of the specific
inappropriate behavior.
• The children insist they told the teacher
detailed information about John Doe.

• The Court rules in favor of the school board.
• “The record in the case reflects no concrete, negative
effect on either the ability to receive an education or the
enjoyment of equal access to educational programs or
opportunities.”
• Grades didn’t suffer, avoided school only 4 or 5 times,
they were simply upset about harassment.
• Damages did not rise to the level to demonstrate “a
systemic effect of denying equal access to an
educational program or activity.”

Americans with Disabilities Act & Rehabilitation
Act
• D.A. v. Meridian Joint School District No. 2, 289
F.R.D. 614 (D. Idaho 2013).
• Bullying may be a violation of Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act if (a) severe enough to
alter the condition of a student’s education and
create an abusive educational environment,
AND (b) actual knowledge and deliberate
indifference by school officials.

D.A. v. Meridian Joint School District No. 2
• 5 Factor test to prove peer-on-peer disability
harassment:
– Plaintiff is an individual with a disability
– Person was harassed based on that disability
– The harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive that
it altered the condition of his or her education and created
an abusive educational environment
– The defendant had actual knowledge of the harassment
– The defendant was deliberately indifferent to the
harassment

First Amendment &
Anti-Bullying Protest Speech
• Hatcher ex rel. Hatcher v. DeSoto County
School District Board of Education,
2013 WL 1395829 (Dist. M.D. Fla.
2013).
• DeSoto County High School student
sought an injunction to prevent
School Board from interfering with
her First Amendment right to
organize student participation in the
2013 National Day of Silence, a
program that brings attention to the
harms of bullying and harassment
directed toward LGBT students.

Hatcher ex re. Hatcher v. DeSoto County School District
Board of Education
• Student attempted to organize participation in the
National Day of Silence during the 2012 school year,
but the High School Principal prohibited student
involvement despite no violations of written school
policy.
• Evidence indicated an “unwritten policy” of prohibiting
all “protest speech” in DeSoto County schools.
• School Board claims 2013 will be different, former
principal has been removed.

Hatcher ex re. Hatcher v. DeSoto County School District
Board of Education
• Court rules injunction not appropriate
remedy under circumstances.
• Moreover, it is unsure of how it would be
fashioned beyond simply stating, “obey the
law.”

Florida Law
Florida Statutes Annotated §1006.07 – District
school board duties relating to student discipline
and school safety
Florida Statutes Annotated §1006.147 – Bullying
and harassment prohibited
Cyberstalking s. 784.048(1)(d), F.S.
Criminal harassment, stalking, defamation, libel,
threatening letters, etc.

But what about
schools and
communities?

• Many schools are seeing an increase in
lawsuits for not having prevented bullying.
• But other schools are taking more proactive
approaches
• In Utah, a football coach who discovered that
his team was cyberbullying suspended his
entire team and made them perform community
service, attend study hall and take a class on
character development.
• http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/25/utah-football-coach-suspends-entire-team-to-build-character/

Best Practices
• Bullying assessments
• Engage the community and get them involved
• Set policies and rules
• Build safe environments
• Educate about bullying

Best Practices
• Partner with business, local associations, etc.
to educate the community and reduce bullying
• Advocate for bullying prevention policies
• Raise awareness through media
• Track progress

What if YOU see it happening?
Don't avoid it; intervene and separate this
parties.
Make sure everyone is OK but don't demand
facts, blame, only speak with only one party, or
make the parties speak publicly about what
happened.
Be careful using the term "bullying“.

What if YOU see it happening?
• Don't add to an already stressful situation; Be
as calm as possible
• Support those bullied or bystanders and be
sure to address bullying behavior
• Be a role model

What can we do?
Photo from https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=192135

• Join the ABA Young
Lawyers Division's 2013-
2014 Public Service
Project "Bullyproof: Young
Lawyers Educating and
Empowering to End
Bullying"
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/initiatives/anti_bullying_initiative.html

Go viral with the "It Gets Better Project" or
StopBullying.gov
Join BETTERLegal of the "It Gets Better Project" to
help spread the word and work on campaigns
Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
online or at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) if you or
someone you know needs help

Work with your local school and community on
bullying prevention and the creation of new
policies.
Educate people on bullying through schools,
open forums, or meetings in your own
workplace.
Support student clubs and organizations .
Stand up for those around you.

Questions?
Image from http://www.lacoe.edu/StudentServices/SchoolSafety/BullyingPage.aspx

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