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This document discusses strategies for minimizing liability from bullying lawsuits. It covers relevant laws, prevention through policies and forms, addressing complaints, and special education considerations. The presentation provides tips for districts, such as thoroughly investigating all complaints, applying consequences flexibly, and documenting all actions taken. It also discusses regulatory agencies and individual liability risks for employees.
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- 1. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM BULLYING LAWSUITS – MINIMIZING LIABILITY October 23, 2015 Presented by: MIRIAM PEARLMUTTER mpearlmutter@ohioedlaw.com MASSILLON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
- 2. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM PRESENTATION TOPICS I. Introduction & Definitions II. Relevant Laws III. Prevention, Policies, and Forms IV. Addressing Bullying Complaints V. Special Education VI. Questions?
- 3. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY • Parents sue not only the district itself, but also any individuals they feel contributed to the problem. • School districts typically indemnify their employees, but being a named defendant is very stressful and time- consuming. • Even unnamed employees are typically dragged into the litigation process.
- 4. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM WHAT IS BULLYING? • There is no one definition. • Many definitions include a power imbalance. • Most definitions include conduct sufficiently severe to affect the school environment and/or limit the student’s participation. • Definition differences can have real-world impact, e.g., ODE’s model policy requires conduct to take place more than once, but OCR’s definition specifies that harassment does not have to involve repeated incidents.
- 5. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOS AND DON’TS TIPS 1-4 1. Don’t emphasize the infraction title or code to the victim/parent. 2. Don’t insist behavior can’t be bullying or harassment just because it happens only once, especially for egregious conduct. 3. Do emphasize that you issue consequences based on the particular facts, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 4. Do apply student code of conduct flexibly within appropriate parameters. Be careful of zero tolerance policies.
- 6. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM PART I: AMENDMENTS AND STATUTES 14TH AMENDMENT • Due Process Clause: The state cannot take away your rights without some sort of process. This can include all kinds of bullying claims. • Generally: These suits fail because the government is not obligated to protect you from third parties. • State-created Danger: State creates or increases the danger more than it would have been had the state done nothing.
- 7. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOS AND DON’TS TIPS 5-8 5. Don’t issue consequences or solve problems in ways that force victims and bullies to work in close proximity to each other. 6. Don’t mandate mediation, especially in sexual assault cases. 7. Do consider, when possible, scheduling classes and seating to keep bullies away from victims. Caution advised. 8. Do offer mediation, unless the conflict involves sexual assault.
- 8. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM EQUAL PROTECTION • Equal Protection Clause: the state will not intentionally discriminate against you based on your race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, citizenship status, gender, etc. These generally include only bullying based on protected status. • Traditionally: Courts explain that unless the plaintiff alleges that the district took her bullying less seriously than that of non-minority children, she doesn’t have a discrimination claim. • Recent Developments: Courts have started to view deliberate indifference to bullying as evidence of intent to discriminate.
- 9. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE • A clearly-unreasonable response to harassment in light of known circumstances. • Traditionally, courts avoided evaluating districts’ disciplinary decisions. • Now, courts have started to assess districts’ responses to bullying. Deliberate indifference has been found where districts took action but harassment continued or worsened.
- 10. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE FOUND • Patterson v. Hudson Area Schools: Verbally reprimanding bullies is not enough, even though this approach was successful with each particular child. School district changed victim’s IEP and he could not attend the resource room anymore, one of the few places he was not bullied. • Mathis v. Wayne Cnty Bd. of Educ.: Even though 7th grade rape perpetrators were suspended from school for 11 days and from the basketball team, the district was deliberately indifferent because they ignored other incidents and eventually allowed the bullies back on the team.
- 11. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM NO DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE • Williams v. Port Huron Sch. Dist.: Racial bullying included slurs, graffiti, physical violence, and death threats. The 6th Circuit found that the superintendent and principal were not deliberately indifferent because they: • Set-up video surveillance • Reported incidents to police • Ordered students to remove Confederate flags • Expelled students • Hired management consultants • Held training seminars • Held parent conferences
- 12. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOS & DON’TS TIPS 9-11 9. Don’t accept a “kids-will-be-kids” approach to student conflicts. 10. Do recognize and address patterns, such as “whack-a- mole” bullying. 11. Do invite outside consultants, agencies, presenters. More on this later.
- 13. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM 1ST AMENDMENT: FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS • Schools may categorically prohibit: • Lewd, vulgar, profane language on school grounds • School-sponsored speech because of any legitimate pedagogical concerns • Speech that substantially disrupts school operations or interferes with others’ rights • Speech that is “a true threat,” defamatory, drug-promoting or “fighting words”
- 14. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM 1ST AMENDMENT: FREE SPEECH OFF CAMPUS AND CYBERBULLYING Courts will usually uphold discipline for off-campus conduct if the conduct: • Substantially disrupted learning • Interfered with school discipline • Was a true threat Courts do not uphold policies that are vague or overbroad.
- 15. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOS AND DON’TS TIPS 12 & 13 12. Do consider: • Location: Is there a connection to the district system or network? • Disruptive effect • Nature of speech • Manner in which speech was distributed 13. Do take action even if you cannot mete out discipline: increasing monitoring/supervision, offer counseling, mediation.
- 16. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM FEDERAL STATUTES • Title IX: Prohibits gender-based exclusion, denial of benefits, or discrimination in education programs. Includes bullying based on sexual orientation. • Title VI: Prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin in federally-funded programs. • Section 504/ADA: Prohibits discrimination based on disability. • IDEA: Requires schools to provide special education students with a free and appropriate public education.
- 17. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM TITLE IX, VI, AND 504/ADA • To succeed on any of these claims, plaintiff must show that: • The student falls within a protected category • The student was harassed because of his or her protected status • The harassment was severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive so that it deprived the student of access to educational opportunities and benefits • The district knew about the harassment • The district was deliberately indifferent
- 18. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM MORE EXAMPLES OF DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE • Logan v. Sycamore Cmty. Sch. Bd. of Educ.: In this famous sexting suicide case, school district was deliberately indifferent because the counselors and principals knew about the harassment but failed to address it. • Galloway v. Chesapeake Union Exempted Vill. Schs. Bd. of Educ.: Principal and teachers failed to address severe disability-based harassment and even participated in it.
- 19. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM NO DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE FOUND • Pahseen v. Merrill Cmty Sch. Dist.: School district was not deliberately indifferent in rape case because, after the perpetrator engaged in more minor sexual misconduct, the IEP team convened and assigned an adult to continuously monitor the student for 30 days. • S.S. v. E. Ky. Univ.: School district was not deliberately indifferent to disability-based harassment because it: held mediation sessions; arranged for outside speakers; monitored the victim; had police speak with offenders; communicated with parents; and disciplined the bullies.
- 20. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT • FAPE. Although this is rare, some courts have found that severe and pervasive harassment denies a child a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”). • Shore Reg’l High Sch. Bd. of Educ. v. P.S.: Court upheld tuition reimbursement after parent unilaterally placed her son in a private school to avoid bullying. • Federal Guidance: Recent directives from OCR suggest the federal government will be taking these claims more seriously.
- 21. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM REGULATORY AGENCIES – OCR The Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) is charged with protecting civil rights in federally-funded programs. Bad News: • Once a complaint is filed, OCR investigates anything remotely relevant, not only the complaint itself. • OCR’s standards for liability are much lower than in courts. Good News: • This is not a lawsuit, so districts typically do not risk financial liability. Instead, OCR will require them to implement various corrective measures.
- 22. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTERS 2010 & 2014 • OCR Requires Districts to: • Have well-publicized policies prohibiting harassment in protected areas. • Have well-publicized procedures for reporting and resolving complaints. • Adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for the prompt resolution of sex and disability discrimination. • When a student with a disability is bullied, the IEP team must convene to determine whether the child’s education is affected.
- 23. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM 2010 OCR LETTER • A school is responsible for addressing harassment when it actually knows or should have known about the incident (wide-spread knowledge, hallways, graffiti etc). • Investigation must be prompt (24 hrs), thorough, and impartial. • If complaint is substantiated, school districts are obligated to: • eliminate hostile environment; • ensure it does not recur; and • remedy its effects • Practically: take both specific and global steps to address the problem.
- 24. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM 2014 OCR LETTER • Children with disabilities are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) under both IDEA and Section 504. • If those children are bullied – for any reason – they may stop participating in class, coming to school, completing homework. • This may violate that child’s right to FAPE because they are no longer receiving an appropriate education.
- 25. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM OCR’S ROLE IN BULLYING INVESTIGATION • OCR will investigate bullying claims to determine whether the district violated children’s right to a FAPE or Section 504. • Disability-based bullying v. bullying based on other characteristics. • Disability-based bullying can include relatively innocuous statements. • http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague- bullying-201410.pdf
- 26. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM BULLYING INVESTIGATIONS OCR WILL LOOK AT: Disability-Based Harassment: • Was a student bullied based on his/her disability? • Was it serious enough to create a hostile environment? • Did the district know/should have known about the bullying? • Did the school fail to take prompt and effective steps to end and prevent the conduct and remedy its effects? Non Disability-Based Harassment: • Did the district know/ should have known that the bullying affects FAPE under IDEA or Section 504? Ex. tanking grades. • Did the district determine whether child’s educational needs were still being met? If not, did it change the Section 504 plan/IEP?
- 27. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM OCR EXAMPLE • Monroeville Local School District: After a parent filed a disability-based harassment complaint, the district resolved the situation by: • Developing and providing parents with grievance procedures • Training officials in civil rights violations • Creating a Peer Mediation Council to address bullying • Implementing elementary-school activities to reduce conflict • Forming a parent support group • Implementing a positive reinforcement system • Offering mentoring for bullied students
- 28. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM STATE STATUTES • Anti-bullying statutes: R.C. 3313.666 and R.C. 3313.667 • Anti-hazing statutes: R.C. 2307.44 and R.C. 2903.31 • Negligence claims and immunity: R.C. 2744
- 29. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM PART II: PREVENTION • Policies – general tips and cyberbullying suggestions • Forms • Anti-Bullying Curricula • Communication
- 30. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM POLICIES – GENERAL • Policy Requirements – R.C. 3313.666. • Training and Review – All staff working with children should be thoroughly familiar with anti-bullying policies and guidelines. Review these policies annually and in detail. • Courts and, especially, agencies examine the staff’s understanding of, and compliance with, district policies and guidelines.
- 31. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM MASSILLON POLICY- HIGHLIGHTS • http://www.neola.com/massillon-oh/ • Policy, administrative guideline, and forms • “The student may also report concerns to teachers and other school staff who will be responsible for notifying the appropriate administrator or Board official.” • “All such information will be reduced to writing and will include the specific nature of the offense and corresponding dates.” • The administrator/Board official will arrange such meetings as may be necessary with all concerned parties within five (5) work days after receipt of the information or complaint. … All findings related to the complaint will be reduced to writing.
- 32. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOS AND DON’TS – TIPS 14 & 15 CYBERBULLYING 14. Do include cyberbullying in your anti-bullying policy, including your Acceptable Use Policy. Illegal or inappropriate internet conduct should be grounds for disciplinary action. 15. Do require students to sign a statement agreeing to comply with district rules on internet use and have parent consent and release form.
- 33. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM FORMS – DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT! Use separate forms for reporting and investigating bullying. • Bullying Reporting Form: • All bullying complaints (e-mail, phone call) should be reduced to writing. This creates a clean record documenting your district’s responses to bullying. • These forms should be easily available and parents, children, and staff should be encouraged to use them.
- 34. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM FORMS (CON’T) • Investigation Form. This form should document each step: • Witnesses and their statements • Interviews with victim, bully, etc. • Results of the investigation • Consequences • Follow-up • Parent contact
- 35. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOCUMENT RETENTION • Store reports by victim so staff can easily retrieve them. • Do not shred or discard emails, discipline records, or bullying forms on a yearly basis, unless required by your district’s policies. • Save all related documents, emails, forms, etc., especially when litigation or charges are pending or threatened.
- 36. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAMS • Your anti-bullying program should: • Be evidence-based • Be age-appropriate, tailored to different grade levels • Include regular activities or presentations • Include parent and staff training components
- 37. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM COMMUNICATION • Staff across buildings should communicate with each other about students who either have a history of bullying or being bullied. • Relevant teachers, bus drivers, etc. should also be informed early on in the school year and asked to keep an eye on the situation.
- 38. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM PART III: ADDRESSING BULLYING COMPLAINTS • Immediate steps: Reduce the complaint to writing and investigate. • Responsive Interventions: School-wide, class-wide, group, or individual interventions may be appropriate. • Consultants: Districts with intensive bullying problems can consider hiring a consultant.
- 39. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM IMMEDIATE STEPS 1. Reduce the complaint to writing by filling out a Bullying Report Form. 2. Contact the parent. Document. 3. Conduct a thorough investigation. Investigate everyone involved and bystanders, take statements. Document. 4. Determine whether the complaint is substantiated and the appropriate consequences. Document. 5. Contact the victim’s parent – general explanation only. Document. 6. Follow-up with victim as necessary.
- 40. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM RESPONSIVE INTERVENTIONS • Class-wide or school-wide training: Diversity training may be especially useful for protected-category bullying. • Group or individual intervention: Mediation or Social Skills Group. • Individual intervention: Offer Counseling when appropriate, increased supervision, safety plans.
- 41. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM CONSULTANTS AND SURVEYS • Consultants can be useful when your district’s bullying problem is extensive. Ex. Williams v. Port Huron. • Surveys: Some districts like to develop formal surveys to assess the extent of the bullying and determine whether their interventions are successful.
- 42. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM SPECIAL EDUCATION AND BULLYING Children who are not identified: • Bullying situations may indicate socio-emotional difficulties and may suggest that the bully, the victim, or both should be evaluated for special education. • Aside from reporting bullying, consider bringing it to the attention of the Intervention Assistance Team. This is important always, but especially if you are seeing: Patterns Atypical social responses Withdrawal
- 43. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM SPECIAL EDUCATION AND BULLYING Children who already have a Section 504 or IEP plan: • OCR: Bullying of any kind can violate IDEA and Section 504 • A victim can withdraw from social situations, become more disruptive, skip classes, start failing coursework. All of these are signs that the child’s FAPE needs are not being met. • Bullies who have emotional disabilities or social disorders may also not be receiving FAPE if they continue to bully others. • The team must convene and decide if the child’s educational needs are still being met. If not, the team must consider changing or adding services. Caution advised re: changing placement.
- 44. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM OCR WILL LOOK AT: Disability-Based Harassment: • Was a student bullied based on his/her disability? • Was it serious enough to create a hostile environment? • Did the district know/should have known about the bullying? • Did the school fail to take prompt and effective steps to end and prevent the conduct and remedy its effects? Non Disability-Based Harassment: • Did the district know/ should have known that the bullying affects FAPE under IDEA or Section 504? Ex. tanking grades. • Did the district determine whether child’s educational needs were still being met? If not, did it change the Section 504 plan/IEP?
- 45. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION • If the bully has an IEP, a disciplinary consequence that results in a “change of placement” requires the IEP team to meet and determine whether the behavior was a manifestation of the disability or resulted from the district’s failure to implement the IEP. • If the team finds that the infraction resulted from the disability or the district’s failure to implement the IEP, then: • Placement cannot be changed without parental consent. Exceptions: weapons, drugs, serious bodily harm. • IEP team must conduct FBA and implement or review/modify BIP.
- 46. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DISCIPLINE (CON’T) If the bully’s placement cannot be changed, how do we respond to bullying so we are not found to be deliberately indifferent? • Convene IEP team. FBA? BIP? • Separating victim and bully (caution advised) • Services for victim and bully – individual or group counseling • Monitoring/supervising • Safety plans
- 47. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT! • Document any IEP team decisions through a Prior Written Notice (PWN, PR-01). • Document attempts to reach parents, parent refusals to sign consent, and any relevant parent conversations.
- 48. WWW.OHIOEDLAW.COM Miriam Pearlmutter Smith Peters Kalail Co., L.P.A. 3 Summit Park Drive, Suite 400 Cleveland, OH 44131 216.503.5055 mpearlmutter@ohioedlaw.com MASSILLON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
- Parents sue: principals, assistant principals, teachers, counselors, bus drivers, anyone. Individual defendants sometimes choose to hire their own attorneys. Individual defendants spend considerable time meeting with attorneys, preparing for depositions, possibly preparing for trial Media: the individual defendant is forever linked to the student and the allegations. Media articles assume guilt. Unnamed employees will also spend time in depositions and preparation. Opposing counsel will try to show your failures reflect on the entire district and its liability.
- Story about what not to say. If you need to make a decision as to terminology- use your common sense. Imagine you are a juror. General Bullying v. Bullying Based on Protected Status Ex. bullying based on protected status: your skin color is ugly, your parents are terrorists , why are you wearing that stupid thing on your head
- Previously, courts said: we leave discipline up to the schools, it is not our place to judge whether discipline was appropriate or not. This is changing. Example Patterson v Hudson
- Superintendent was in the background- the principal here saved the day.
- Even if you see the conflict as typical adolescent fights, you still need to address it as bullying. Courts or agencies no longer dismiss complaints just because the type of interaction is common.
- Vague or overbroad policy = Unkind remarks or disrespectful language towards others will not be tolerated
- Consult with your supervisor before meting out the discipline and we urge you to call your attorney. Attorneys like to be consulted before, not after.
- Galloway: high school student with Asperger’s Disorder, ADHD, and seizure disorder sued a school district, and several teachers and administrators, alleging they failed to prevent disability-based bullying and harassment. The plaintiff alleged that other students called him names, threw water on themselves to mimic his incontinence during seizures, stole and destroyed his belongings and projects, punched him, encouraged him to commit suicide, and sexually assaulted him. District’s Response: The student alleged one teacher repeatedly quizzed him in front of the class about whether he really had seizures, and told his parents that he was lazy and that it was a nuisance to teach him. Another teacher reportedly signed a petition to remove the plaintiff from the classroom. A principal allegedly told the plaintiff to “work it out” when he complained that other students told him they wanted him to “hang himself, let us watch, we will tighten the noose, dig your grave, cut the rope after you’re dead and cover you up with dirt.” Outcome: The Court held that the district, as well as the individual administrators and teachers, could be liable for the plaintiff’s Section 504, and ADA claims. Additionally, the court allowed the student’s Title IX claim to proceed against the district, and his Equal Protection and state-law claims to continue against the individual defendants. The student alleged enough facts to suggest the district knew its staff was deliberately indifferent to the bullying, because the administrators and teachers purportedly ignored disability-based bullying and treated the student differently based on his disability.
- OCR letter issued 10/21/14: This letter explains that when a child with special education needs is bullied for any reason, the child can withdraw, miss classes, fail subjects, etc. This could result in a denial of FAPE if the district fails to address the bullying.
- OCR claims are very very time consuming, some lasting several years or more. OCR liability standards are much lower. Actual knowledge v. should have known, deliberate indifference v. taking prompt action designed to end, prevent, and remedy harassment.
- This letter lists OCR’s requirements for preventing and addressing bullying- these are also typically part of their remediation procedures.
- Bullying on any basis
- Negligence and immunity are typically against the individual. In this claim, the parents allege that the teacher or principal or whoever was reckless, malicious, wanton or acted in bad faith in ignoring the bullying. These claims can go to trial because courts often decide that this is a question for a jury. R.C. 3313.666 requires the district to develop an anti-bullying policy and lists all the required components. Ex. identify terms, establish procedures for documenting, responding to incidents, investigating, etc. Model policy available on ODE website. RC. 3313.667 requires districts to use federal funds to provide training, workshops, etc. Hazing is defined as “doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person.” Courts require plaintiffs to allege a dangerous act of initiation and desired membership in a particular group. Neither statute allows for a private course of action, but plaintiffs still try. R.C. 2744.02 grants Boards of Education immunity from typical negligence claims. Employees are also immune, unless the plaintiff alleges the employee acted with: Malice Bad faith Recklessness Wantonness
- If I’m defending your administrators or staff in a deposition, I do not want to hear opposing counsel ask about the policy for reporting bullying and to have your staff answer that they don’t know if there is a policy or whom bullying is supposed to be reported to or how or when. Each staff person who interacts with children, including bus drivers, should know what is considered bullying or harassment, how to report it, to whom, and how far up the chain bullying needs to be reported. Also whether informal or formal, whether written or verbal. Many of your policies require informal reports to be reduced to writing and forwarded to the superintendent or the Civil Rights Coordinator. Your staff must know who the Civil Rights Coordinator is and how to forward information to him or her.
- Cyberbullying is often seen as more severe than other bullying because it: Reaches a wider audience Potentially lasts forever Involves difficult-to-identify bullies Reaches children in their homes May be outside of districts’ legal reach.
- Teachers, bus drivers, aids, cafeteria monitors, SRO- all need to report bullying. If you fail to report bullying, it may result in District liability.
- DASL and Public School Works does not necessarily allow for a clean quick search by victim. If you are using these systems, make sure your staff includes bullying information as an incident in the victim’s file as well as the bully’s.
- Designate one person from each building to be responsible for implementing the anti-bullying program your district chose. Do not assume that a general be-a-good-citizen program is enough (Leader in Me example)- make sure the program has at least several full anti-bullying modules.
- Otherwise, a victim’s attorney can claim that the bullying would have been prevented if next year’s staff knew about the patterns.
- It’s important to contact the victim’s parent and explain that you’ve followed up and either taken appropriate action or explain that the investigation did not substantiate. You can also discuss general strategies you have implemented or will implement to address the problem, i.e., anti-bullying curriculum, classroom presentations, lunch bunch, increased supervision for students who have conflicts, etc. Stress to the parent that the parent or the child should immediately let you know of any further problems. DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT If you are not the investigator- you should still document that you reported the bullying so as to protect yourself. Fill out the bullying form and keep a copy for yourself, noting whom you submitted it to and when.
- Remember, these steps show courts and administrative agencies that you are taking bullying claims seriously and addressing them globally, not only on an individual basis.
- Remember that surveys must be treated as bullying complaints, especially when specific children are mentioned. Do not take the survey and dump the files in a closet. Follow up, speak to the kids, make a bullying report. In discovery we sometimes see bullying surveys where kids talk about other children being harassed because of race or kids who mention suicidal thoughts because they are being bullied. Do not ignore this
- Sixty-day Timeline: The district has sixty (60) days from the date of parent’s written consent to complete the ETR and hold the ETR meeting. FBA & FIP: A Functional Behavior Analysis and Behavior Intervention Plan should be completed for any child with ongoing behavioral concerns.
- Remember to follow up – that is key!