Anti-Bullying Lawyer in New Jersey
Laura González will work closely with your family to navigate the process of creating a safe educational environment for your child. She will assist you from the complaint through to the DOE appeal process.
Your Child Deserves a Safe Learning Environment
Bullying is a pernicious and pervasive problem that schools must address effectively. We all know the damage that bullying does to a child. And children with special needs are even more susceptible to being victimized.
According to the New Jersey State Anti-Bullying Task Force, 19,200 instances of bullying were reported in schools during the 2021-2022 school year. New Jersey ranks 4th in prevalence of bullying according to Wallet Hub, while New York ranks 39th.
School bullying can have a life altering impact on a child’s emotional health and academic performance, as you know all too well. Approximately 20% of students ages 12-18 report being bullied, whether online or in person. Fewer than half of middle and high schoolers notify a teacher or adult, according to the Pew Research Center.
Primary school children with special educational needs are twice as likely as other children to suffer from persistent bullying. 70% of children with autistic spectrum disorders combined with other characteristics (for example, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have experienced bullying (Bejerot and Mortberg 2009).
I am all too familiar with this issue. I’ve been there. I can help you navigate the HIB process and, if it gets to that point, appeal to the Board of Education, and then the Department of Education.
When your child’s education feels like a battle, you deserve an advocate on your side.
New Jersey Anti-Bullying Laws
All 50 states, including New Jersey, have anti-bullying laws. New Jersey’s law is available through the NJ Department of Education.
“Harassment, intimidation, or bullying” means any gesture, any written, verbal, or physical act, or any electronic communication that:
- is perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical, or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic
- takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, on a school bus, or off school grounds
disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students - a person should know will physically or emotionally harm a student or damage the student’s property
- a person should know will place a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to a student’s person or damage to a student’s property
- insults or demeans any student or group of students
creates a hostile educational environment for a student by interfering with the student’s education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student