The primary business of Maine public schools is to educate children. Education can't occur, though, unless children feel safe and protected in their school environment. It's simply impossible to learn if you're spending all your time worried about your safety.
Bullying remains a pervasive problem in school districts across the U.S. and can be difficult to stamp out entirely. When districts fail to put proper anti-bullying policies into place, though, or to address bullying when it occurs, they fail in their responsibilities to students. They fail to protect students, and as a result, they fail at their primary job: education.
If your child has been a victim of bullying, you have a right to demand the school take action. If teachers and administrators fail to take action, you have the right to hold the school accountable. In fact, Maine law goes further in outlining district responsibilities. Schools aren't just required to respond to bullying; they are required to prevent bullying. That means any time bullying occurs, you have a right to hold your district accountable.
The Lento Law Firm can help with that process. Our Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights and to make sure all students have access to the best possible education. We take bullying extremely seriously, and we have the background and experience to make sure your school district does, too.
If your child is being bullied, you owe it to yourself to find out how we can help. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or take time now to tell us about your problem.
First Things First: Protecting Your Child
This guide is designed to give you basic information on filing civil litigation against your child's school district. You'll find an explanation of Maine law, an outline of the legal processes involved, and a list of steps you can take to help build your case. Before you read any of that, though, you need to understand that bullying can have serious consequences, and your first priority has to be protecting your child.
Obviously, bullying interferes with learning. It can be violent or cause property damage. Beyond these immediate effects, though, bullying can also have severe long-term consequences for victims. Your child could develop symptoms of depression or anxiety. They could become fearful of going to school or give up on education altogether. In some cases, students develop PTSD. When the stakes are this high, you can't afford to wait for legal action to work its way through the courts. You must act quickly and decisively.
To be clear, it is never acceptable to retaliate against a bully or their family or to take the law into your own hands. Short of these actions, though, your goal must always be to protect your child.
- You can start by contacting your child's school or school district. You'll find most teachers and administrators eager to help.
- If your district is unwilling to help or isn't moving fast enough to deal with the situation, you should try contacting the Maine Department of Education. This department has administrative and financial forces it can bring to bear on districts.
- In some situations, it may be necessary to take your child out of school, at least temporarily. Missing school is never a great option, but if you can't stop the bullying any other way, it could be your best option.
- In some serious cases—if violence is involved, or there's a potential for violence—you may need to contact local law enforcement and ask for help.
Bullying can be incredibly stressful, not just for kids but for their parents. It's easy to become overwhelmed. Remember, though, that you're not alone. The Lento Law Firm is always on your side. Yes, we're prepared to represent you in court, but your health and safety and the welfare of your children are our first concerns. We can help you assess the situation. We can direct you to the appropriate resources. We can make calls on your behalf.
Don't wait to see what might happen. Call us now at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online questionnaire.
Maine Anti-bullying Laws
Let's start by talking about Maine law. What does the law do to protect your child, and what are schools' responsibilities to deal with bullying?
Maine legislation expressly prohibits bullying. The legislature recognizes that "bullying and cyberbullying have a negative effect on the school environment and student learning and well-being" and goes on to say in no uncertain terms that "A person may not engage in bullying on school grounds."
The law does not, however, prescribe criminal penalties for bullying. That is, no one is going to arrest a student who makes fun of another student's freckles or hair or sexual orientation or religion. Instead, the law places the burden on schools to prevent and respond to bullying.
Maine school districts must, for instance, develop policies that address bullying. At a minimum, those policies must
- Clearly outlaw bullying
- Outline processes and procedures for reporting bullying
- Outline a process for investigating such reports
- Make clear that bullying will result in disciplinary consequences
Any time a school district fails to respond to bullying, the law is clear: it has failed in its responsibilities.
The law goes further, however. Districts aren't just required to respond to bullying. They are required to put measures in place to prevent bullying. Instituting a policy is an important start. Districts must also
- Provide school personnel with professional development and training in how to deal with bullying
- Distribute the anti-bullying policy to all students, parents, staff, and volunteers
- Include the policy in student handbooks
- Post the policy on school websites
What these requirements suggest is that any time a bullying incident occurs, you may have the right to hold your district accountable, even if it responds appropriately. The bottom line is that districts are supposed to prevent bullying, not just handle it after it has occurred.
Maine Bullying Definition
Maine law further provides a clear definition of bullying, which can be important in laying the foundation for a negligence claim against your school or district.
This definition has two parts.
- First, it identifies what kinds of actions can qualify as bullying: “written, oral or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof.”
- Second, it describes three potential results of bullying:
- Harm to a student or the student's property or reasonable fear that harm will be done to the student or their property
- Interference with a student's right to an education through the creation of a hostile environment
- Targeting of a student's “actual or perceived” “distinguishing characteristics.”
Finally, the law sets up schools' jurisdictional authority, limiting when and where districts and district personnel are responsible for bullying. In order to hold your child's school accountable for bullying, the bullying must have occurred.
- On school grounds
- On school transportation
- As part of a school-sponsored event or activity
Crucially, though, the law adds one additional provision. Cyberbullying—bullying through the use of technology—is a school's responsibility, no matter where it occurs, if it interferes with a student's right to an education. This means social media posts, hostile texts, and inappropriate images could be under a school's purview.
Maine's Liability Laws as They Apply to Bullying
We said before that school bullies cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions. Despite Maine's strict anti-bullying laws, school districts and school personnel cannot be held criminally responsible either.
What the law does instead is establish districts' obligations, which then makes it possible to hold them liable for their mistakes or negligence. That is, Maine's anti-bullying laws make it possible to file a civil suit against a school district if your child is bullied.
Parents are sometimes reticent to sue for damages. A lawsuit may seem like a radical step. The law doesn't just give you this right, though. It gives you this right as a mechanism for holding districts to account when they fail to live up to their responsibilities under the law. In other words, civil suits are an important and necessary part of our justice system.
Maine Private School Liability to Bullying Victims
Unfortunately, Maine's anti-bullying legislation does not apply to private schools in the state. If your child attends such a school, the only way to protect them from verbal harassment may be to ask the school itself to intervene. If it refuses to do so, you may have no legal recourse.
There are two exceptions to this general rule, however.
- A private school is, by definition, a private entity and subject to Maine's tort laws. If a private school doesn't take reasonable steps to prevent and respond to criminal acts, it can be held liable. While verbal harassment doesn't usually qualify as criminal, other kinds of bullying do. If your child was assaulted, for example, or if someone violated their privacy, and their school did nothing to intervene, you have the right to file a civil suit against them.
- Federal law provides protection from harassment for certain groups, including minorities, women, and the disabled, and that protection extends to any entity that receives government funds, including private schools. If your child is a member of one of these groups, you can file a civil suit in federal court to recover any damages your family may have suffered.
Federal Anti-bullying Laws Supporting Liability
While the federal government has taken an active stance against school bullying and even operates its own anti-bullying website that posts information on anti-bullying legislation in each state, to date, the U.S. Congress has passed no laws that address bullying explicitly.
However, there are federal laws against harassment of specially protected groups—women, for instance, minorities, and the disabled. These laws apply to any educational institution that receives federal funding. For example,
- Title IV is a broad-based law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. “Discrimination” here includes all forms of harassment since harassment has the general effect of denying a person their equal rights to an education.
- Title IX specifically bars sexually-based harassment at any educational institution.
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guarantees equal access to public education to students with disabilities. Again, harassment, by definition, prevents such access.
Typically, federal suits are more difficult to file than state suits, and the litigation process can be far more complicated. One difficulty is in developing grounds for such a suit. You must, of course, prove that harassment occurred and that the school bears some responsibility for allowing it to occur, just as you would in a state case. In addition, however, you must also prove that your child is a member of a protected class and that the harassment was directly related to their protected status.
This does not mean that you should avoid filing a federal case. Such litigation can be appropriate in the right circumstances and offers an important path to accountability. What it does mean is that you must carefully evaluate your situation and consider all of your options. The Lento Law Firm can help you to do this. We'll sit down with you and discuss the best course of action, and we'll stand beside you from start to finish.
Compensation for Bullying Victims in Maine
We've used the word "compensation" several times already. Compensation is the primary option open to you when it comes to holding a school district responsible for its actions or lack of action. What does compensation mean exactly, though?
The goal of a civil suit, whether state or federal, is to help you and your family recoup any losses you may have suffered as a result of bullying. Some of these losses will be obvious and may involve out-of-pocket expenses you've already had to pay.
- Medical expenses
- Therapy or counseling expenses
- Replacement items like computers, clothes, book bags, or glasses
- Lost wages if your child has a job or lost earning potential if the bullying affected their future ability to work
As we've already mentioned, though, the effects of bullying can be deep and lasting. PTSD, depression, and anxiety don't come with a quantifiable price tag, but they certainly demand some form of compensation, as do
- Pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional distress
- Embarrassment
- Humiliation
- Fear or fright
- Shock
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Again, it's not always easy as a parent to know what kind of compensation your child and your family deserve. Most of us don't think in terms of liability and loss very often. At the Lento Law Firm, though, it's our job. We'll make a thorough examination of all the damages you've suffered and help you determine what a fair settlement should look like.
The First Steps Toward Litigation
Civil litigation is never easy, and Maine law includes a number of important limitations on your ability to sue government entities like school districts. It's important, then, that you build your case carefully, even before you take any official action.
- First, make sure you document everything related to your case. Start by asking your child to write down exactly what happened to them. Make note of any specific lapses your school district may have committed. And keep records of all contact you have with anyone involved in the case.
- Report bullying immediately. You cannot complain your school failed to respond properly to a bullying incident if you don't give them the chance to respond.
- Participate fully in any investigations or hearings. Again, you cannot expect your child's school to conduct investigations and punish offenders without your cooperation.
- If district personnel should refuse to act or to act swiftly enough, contact state authorities. You need to be able to show that you took every possible step to protect your child from harm.
Fulfilling your own responsibilities is an important step in a successful lawsuit, but the process isn't always easy. Keep in mind that the law protects you from retaliation both from the perpetrator and from your school district. In addition, remember that the Lento Law Firm is here to help with all steps in the process.
Pursuing a Maine Civil Action on Behalf of a Bullying Victim
Once you've laid the foundation for a civil suit and contacted a Lento Law Firm attorney, they'll begin working through the official process of filing suit on your behalf.
- Your attorney will begin by conducting a pre-trial investigation into events. In simple terms, they'll assemble all the evidence in the case and sift through this evidence to determine what is relevant and what is admissible.
- Your attorney's next job is to research the legal issues in your case and to draft an official complaint. As part of the process, they must notify the district of your intentions, file with the proper court, and get documents in within strict deadlines.
- Your attorney then issues an official summons to district officials and anyone else directly involved in the case. These officials must sit for a deposition and answer questions about what they know of events. You'll likely be deposed as well. You can count on your attorney to be at your side throughout this process and to protect your rights.
- Throughout these pre-trial processes, your attorney will conduct negotiations with the district in an attempt to reach a fair settlement. Most civil cases are settled before they go to trial, but your attorney must make sure you are fully compensated for any losses.
- If the trial goes forward, your attorney will represent you before the court in all matters. For instance, they make opening and closing statements, submit evidence, conduct examination and cross-examination, and respond to defense arguments.
- When a settlement has been reached, or the trial has concluded, your attorney will collect any monies you're owed. Or, if you should lose the case, they'll work with you to file any necessary appeals.
Defending Disciplinary Charges Against a Bullying Victim
Bullying cases can get messy. One of the unfortunate side effects that sometimes happens is that victims wind up accused of misconduct. Maybe your child chose to retaliate against their bully, either to protect themselves or out of understandable frustration. Sometimes, bullies and their families try to level accusations in order to avoid blaming themselves. And rather than take the time to investigate and sort out the true facts, schools sometimes simply accuse everyone involved of wrongdoing.
If that happens, let your Lento Law Firm attorney know immediately. We can be fierce courtroom litigators, but we're also experienced in representing students in school disciplinary cases. We know how district judicial systems work and are comfortable talking to teachers and administrators. We can
- Respond to any complaints made against your child
- Document what happened and ensure the school knows all the facts
- Take measures to prevent the situation from escalating
- Represent your child during investigative meetings and hearings
- Pressure the district to follow its own policies
- Negotiate with school and district officials to come up with fair resolutions
- Use additional channels to pressure the district, such as the Maine Department of Education
Helping Your Student Avoid Maine School Bullying
Compensation and restitution are important aspects of the justice system, and they can go a long way to helping your family begin the process of healing. The very best possible situation, though, is to avoid bullying altogether. Keep in mind that there are a number of steps you can take to keep your child from becoming a victim in the first place.
- It sounds simple, but talk to your children about bullying. They need to understand what bullying is and how to recognize it. Make sure they understand the damage bullying can do and the consequences bullies can face. Make sure they aren't bullying themselves, even in retaliation.
- Make sure you report bullying to your school, whether it's happening to your child or someone else's. Most schools will take quick action, and any employee should be able to help you with the process.
- Offer your child support. Believe them if they claim they are being bullied, and take steps to protect them.
- Encourage your kids to talk about bullying with their friends. The more students in your school district recognize the dangers of bullying, the less likely bullying is to occur in the first place.
Premier Representation for Maine Bullying Victims
The Lento Law Firm was founded to help students. We know the law, we know the Maine education system, and we're highly experienced. You can count on the firm's Student Defense Team to do everything in our power to protect you and your family and to hold your district accountable if it's been negligent.
If your child is being bullied, contact us today at 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form to find out how we can help.
