ACLU of Ohio Takes Bullying by the Horns

11/16/11

This week, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is also asking that question, by threatening legal action against a Chillicothe-area school district if it fails to address bullying, in particular violence directed at gay students, according to the November 15^th the-daily-record.com article, “ACLU threatens legal action in gay student bullying”.

Per the article, James Hardiman, legal director for the group, was quoted as saying: “To the extent that school districts are not inclined to obey the law, hopefully we can inspire them to do the right thing.”

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Per the article, a Unioto High School freshman was attacked in a classroom by another student last month. The incident was recorded and posted to the Internet. There, it earned national attention. Suspension was the punishment for one student involved in the case, and that same student pled guilty to criminal charges, per Hardiman. In addition, the student who recorded the attack also was disciplined, the mother of the victim, Rebecca Collins, said.

Though anti-bullying programs are required to be developed in school districts, per the article, Hardiman said the Chillicothe district was not enforcing the policies it had created.

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Hardiman wrote a letter to the school district last week. In it, he pointed out the fact that this recent incident followed a series of other bullying incidents at the school. He demanded to know how the school intended to prevent future harassment, and left open the possibility of lawsuits.

He was quoted as saying: “I think there should be a prohibition against bullying on the basis of sexual orientation. That's not in the state law as it currently exists. But regardless of the reason that he was bullied, the reality was that he was bullied. Whether he was bullied because he was tall, short, white, black, other, gay, straight – bullying is a problem.”

James Hardiman was named legal director for the ACLU of Ohio in May of 2010. He has over 40 years of experience litigating complex civil rights and civil liberties issues. These include school desegregation, police practices, and voting rights. During the course of his career, he has played a role in several landmark cases, including ones that resulted in the desegregation of school and police departments in cities including Cleveland, Lorain, Alliance, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Other significant cases in which he has participated include various criminal defense cases, as well as his challenge of at-large election of municipal court judges in Ohio.

I applaud the efforts of Hardiman, and all those who work to stop bullying. Unfortunately, it's a problem that needs many hands to address. And, unfortunately, there's so much wrong with bullying it's hard to know where to begin. Is it a problem that began in families, or schools? How has the issue gotten so out of hand and so widespread? The fact that the ACLU has to get involved, I feel, is a sad commentary on our society. However, I'm also grateful such organizations exist to combat this ugliness.