March 29, 2010

>Bullied NY Gay Student Receives Settlement, School to Make Changes After Lawsuit

>Not only is addressing anti-LGBT bullying and harassment the right thing to do, failing to do so can also be very costly for school districts.

In yet another favorable outcome for a student who sued a district for failing to address bullying based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, a gay student from New York has reached a settlement with Mohawk Central School District in federal court.

Jacob is now 15 and says school officials did virtually nothing to stop bullies who picked on him because he acted differently from other boys.

Under the settlement, the district agreed to implement changes to protect students
from harassment and to pay $50,000 to Jacob’s family.

Such judicial outcomes have become the norm rather than the exception. GLSEN and The National Center for Lesbian Rights put together an extensive list a few years ago of court cases where the student won or a settlement was reached: Fifteen Expensive Reasons Why Safe Schools Legislation is in Your State’s Best Interest.

   

About Daryl Presgraves

       

Daryl Presgraves is the Director of Communications at GLSEN--the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.