Good Morning! I have an 8th grade daughter who just endured a year of bullying from one of her teachers. All year I brought this to the Principal and VP's attention, but never got any satisfaction. Finally, by the end of the year we had a "no contact" agreement between my daughter and the teacher and I filed a complaint with the school district. The "findings" of the school district are in, and (not surprisingly) they found NOT ONE other student experienced these same issues. In talking to parents, many of their students DID have the same issues and transferred out of this teacher's class. The Principal was well aware of all these problems, yet this has been swept under the carpet and my daughter made to feel as if she is just an emotional 8th grader who "misunderstood" the teacher's actions. Where do I go now as this is not an acceptable conclusion. Thank you!
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): California Already Tried: As referenced before, I brought the issue to the attention of school level officials, and then filed a complaint with the school district which has been investigated.
Hello and thank you for the question. I am sorry to read of this dilemma. Have you considered a transfer or a civil lawsuit? what outcome are you seeking?
She has graduated from that school, so that part is done. I want to know if a civil lawsuit is possible because all I hear from these people is "confidentiality" ~ my main goal is to make sure this teacher stops these bullying practices, and my daughter has the satisfaction of knowing she wasn't making these issues up. She has had a very hard time, lots of crying, because of this whole year.
Did you or your child sign a confidentiality agreement?
No. The District keeps telling me that I can't talk to anyone else about this issue. I think they are full of it.
They would only be right of you signed a confidentiality agreement. You are otherwise free to discuss it and to sue them for breach of their duty to the student and emotional harm. Consider having a lawyer reach out to negotiate a settlement and otherwise sue working on contingency fee basis.
Just one more question, please. How do I go about finding an attorney who deals with these types of issues? Is there some type of referral instead of just opening up the yellow pages? Thank you!
You want a lawyer who handles education law.martindale.com and findlaw.com are fantastic directories.
Experience: Licensed attorney helping individuals and businesses