Too often, the news reports stories about kids being bullied at school. In Ohio, there is a law that tells schools what they must do to protect their students from bullying. "Bullying" refers to any written, spoken, or physical acts that are threatening or abusive to another student and happens more than once. Parents and caregivers need to know what schools should be doing and what they can do to help their children.
Every school district in Ohio must have an anti-bullying policy. A copy of the district's policy should be available from the school. The anti-bullying policy covers any acts of bullying at school, on the school bus, or at any school event. It also includes acts of electronic bullying such as bullying through the internet or by cell phone.
The policy will tell parents and students how to report bullying. Reports should be made in writing to the school. This letter should include enough information about the problem so the school can investigate. Put the date on the letter and make a copy to keep before giving it to the school. On your copy, write down the name of the person you gave the letter to at the school. School staff must also report any bullying they know about at school.
Once the school learns about a bullying problem, the school must investigate the bullying. When the investigation is complete, the school should make a plan to keep the student safe who is being bullied.
If the school does not adequately respond to the bullying report, you can contact the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, to decide if a complaint against the school should be made. Their phone number is 216-522-4970. In order to make a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, the bullying must be related to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. For more information, see also the Legal Aid brochure "Bullying in Ohio Schools" at https://lasclev.org/bullyinginschoolsbrochure/.
This article was written by Legal Aid Staff Attorney Katie Feldman and appeared in The Alert: Volume 29, Issue 3. Click here to read the full issue.