Bullying of Students with Disabilities Puts School Districts on the Defensive January 2nd, 2012

While you might think that students with physical disabilities, students who are on the autism spectrum and with other needs might have protections against bullying, a recent case in Maryland underscores that this is not so. According to EdWeek, Jonathan Brice, school support network officer for Baltimore city schools, says that one-quarter of students who are bullied in the system are special education students. Earlier this year, Edmund and Shawna Sullivan sued their Maryland school district and two principals, charging that they had failed to address the bullying of their then-8-year-old son. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was only 13 weeks old; the bullying he endured was such that he had to be placed in a psychiatric institution.

EdWeek reports that the case went to trial last week and a jury ruled in favor of the school district, citing a lack of evidence. Some jurors noted that the parents had not filed a state-mandated bullying and reporting form, which school officials said had been available to them for two years. But one of the principals showed what Ellen Callegary, an attorney and special-education advocate for more than 30 years, called a shocking "lack of empathy" for students with disabilities:

[The principal] ...testified that although reports the boy and his sister were beaten and robbed "may have been mentioned," "bullying has become a buzzword."

The principal's reference to bullying as a "buzzword" reveals a deep lack of understanding about the reality of bullying and the additional challenges students with disabilities face in telling teachers, administrators and parents about being bullied. Students with disabilities may already have communication challenges (some students, including my son, may have very minimal language or be non-verbal) or fear that no one will believe them, or fear repercussions from the bullies if they report what happens....

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