I just read about the settlement made by the school district with Phoebe Prince’s parents. See http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/12/phoebe-princes-parents-settled-school-district-lawsuit-for-225000/.
$225,000 won’t bring Phoebe back, and it certainly is no compensation for Phoebe’s death. However, the school board will pay attention to the $225,000. Hopefully, this will spur them to take positive steps to significantly reduce bullying in their district.
School trustees take note. Bullying is often tortious behaviour (i.e., a non-criminal court can hear the case and award damages to the victim) and can easily and quickly escalate into criminal behaviour.
Car manufacturers didn’t get really serious about vehicle safety until the courts started handing down multi-million-dollar judgments against them.
If schools don’t quickly and effectively start dealing with bullying, students and parents will turn to the courts for remedies including but not limited to monetary damages.
While suing schools is not the best way to tackle bullying, is that the only effective option left to students and parents?
