Bullying in Schools and Its Relation to The Free Speech Law

Bullying in Schools and Its Relation to The Free Speech Law

Introduction

The problem of harassment, as well as school bullying, serves as a critical issue that demands national attention as it affects the success of the students and may lead to unnecessary deaths. Several individuals who suffer bullying in schools are usually those of a young age, and they are reported as being responsible for the severally committed suicides (Bagley, 2015). School bullying serves as a form of abuse, intimidation, threat, and aggressive dominance. The culture of bullying can develop within any context where there is the interaction of human beings. This may be at homes, neighborhoods, or in schools. Social media sites are reported as being the primary platform for bullying within the current society. School management and the nation at large are responsible for offering the best solutions to prevent bullying. Students have a right to proper education and peace in schools, which makes it the duty of the education providers to ensure that their rights are not interfered with in any way. Speech plays a crucial role in bullying and should be monitored to ensure that students do not undergo any verbal harassment or bullying (Bagley, 2015). The essential matter at hand that needs a proper approach is not what the speech schools censor but the possibility of whether these schools should censor as well as prevent specific speech that can affect the educational environment for particular students or groups of students.

Literature Review

There are various forms of bullying. Some countries do not have legal laws covering bullying, while others have strict rules that are against bullying of any kind. My choice to research on this topic is out of a strong influence on the rampant increase in bullying globally. They commonly target group in bullying is the young children as well as teenagers who are considered weak and the inability to self-protect themselves. This group is also regarded as easy to be manipulated into the situation. Teenagers and young children have been subjects of suicide because of bullying for a long time. Bullying in schools is severe and includes discrimination and harassment because of weaknesses, religion, class, age, religion, and background..

According to DeMitchell (2011), bullying in schools is not a new phenomenon, and it is a challenge that affects students globally. Canada has reported over 11.6 percent of boys who have been bullied as compared to 11.5 percent from the United States. Cases of bullying that involve girls are reported as being 17.9 percent in the United States and 17.8 percent in Canada. Bullying has been discovered to cause severe harms on students as well as damage to their property, interference with their educational opportunities, disruption of their orderly school operations, emotional distress on the students, and presents a hostile educational environment. Most of the bullies are students or people of older age, and some may be bright and attractive. Speech is a tool that the bullies use in most cases in schools to harass other students. This article states that students enjoy a degree of freedom of expression within the schools. However, this degree is balanced against the requirement to foster an educational atmosphere that is free from disruptions (DeMitchell, 2011). Therefore, despite the freedom of speech, it is essential to monitor student’s expressions to ensure that they do not use this freedom to harass minors and bully others in schools.

According to Al-Ali & Shattnawi (2018), bullying often occurred to students who are exposed to negative actions repeatedly. Adverse effects, in this case, are those that are intentionally afflicted or attempts to torment and discomfort or cause injury to another. Bullying is also prevalent in situations where there are differences in power between the victims and the bully in a way that the victims do not have the ability for self-protection. Cyberbullying is also common in the current generation. Recently reported cases of bullying state that approximately 20.8% of students in the whole world reported on bullying by 2018. Most of the students are of 12 to 18 years of age and some report on being made fun of, such as being called weird names, some report on insults, some physical assault, while others reported on social exclusion (Al-Ali & Shattnawi, 2018). This study indicates that ethnic minorities suffer severe bullying in schools more than students from other backgrounds. Such bullying leads to both long-term and short-term emotional and psychological effects on the perpetrators and the victims. Most victims reported poor physical and mental health as they showed symptoms of depression, loneliness, anxiety, nightmares, abdominal pains, headaches, somber, body aches, as well as frequent illnesses. It also interferes with academic performance as the mental ability of the students is affected.

Menesini & Salmivalli (2017) states that there exists a vast variation in the rates of prevalence of bullying in schools. The article states that almost 20% to 25% of young people suffer bullying directly as victims or perpetrators. Gender and age differences serve as one of the major factors leading to the high rates of bullying in schools. Bullying commonly occurs during the middle school years, while it decreases towards the end of high school. As the ages of the students increase, it shifts from physical bullying towards indirect as well as rational bullying (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). Boys are prone to bullying more than girls. Bullying affects the health condition of the students, as it eventually affects their educational abilities. Most of the students are bullied through speech as they are abused and called bad names that torture their emotions. Many students misuse their freedom of speech to torture other students of different minorities. This may also occur because of their levels of performance in schools. The better students usually end up discriminating and abusing the slow learners, which may cause them to depression and other emotional tortures.

Al-Raqqad et al. (2017) submit that bullying is prevalent in almost all communities for a long time. It is a common form of violence in institutions, and it makes the schools become an unsafe place for the students. It affects academic performance negatively as the girls are affected more than the boys because of the difference in physique. The problems caused by bullying are complex, and they tend to affects all students, whether they’re the victim or the bullies, and those who witness the interpersonal violence. It involves physical, verbal, jokes, threats, criticisms, assault, and language (Al-Raqqad et al., 2017). Teachers and education should come up with proper strategies to curb the problem. They should reach out to both bullies and the victims to find the possible root causes of the problem and offer the amicable solutions to the issues.

Laws and Regulations

The regulations and laws concerning bullying include specific state laws stipulated against the action. The state has passed several laws that define bullying as well as the authorization of school officials and other authorities towards undertaking the right measures to end and prevent the problem from occurring. These laws vary from one state to another. Arizona states delegated the duty of defining activities that involve bullying to the school district administrations. California state has implemented the “Safe Place to Learn Act” that gives the students a right to attend a secure, peaceful, and safe learning environment. Cases where children are bullied demands for the parents to begin with the state’s anti-bullying laws as the primary measure towards the solution of the problem. Most state and federal laws demand that in cases of bullying or suspicion to these cases, there should be enough investigation from the school to ascertain the situation. Children who suffer bullying due to their circumstances of disability have more protection within federal law. Cases where bullying bases on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation put the schools in violation of the federal laws. The Department of Education’s Office of the Civil Rights in the United States presents the bullying-related federal regulations. It makes proper reviews on the responsibilities of the schools to respond effectively to cases that concern bullying. The anti-bullying policies and laws are useful in the reduction and control of bullying among the youth who attend schooling.

The state law has stricter timelines as well as protections in issues that concern school bullying more than the federal law. However, federal law is successful in offering certain protections that benefit the kids with attention and learning issues. Section 504, as well as Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), provides prohibition of discrimination at institutions against students who have disabilities. This may involve pupils who suffer attention and learning issues. The laws protect the students against bullying, especially youth-age teens.

The agencies are authorized to come up with the administrative laws concerning the laws that are enacted by congress. These laws usually come in the form of orders, rules, decisions, procedures, as well as regulations. Many nations in the world have adopted the bullying laws to offer school safety to the students and prevent cases of youth violence. The education and public health agencies are active in preventing bullying, which causes destruction and may affect the health of the students.

Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a law that was enacted by the United States Department of Education specifically to prevent any form of discrimination, which bases on color, national origin, or race. This law serves as a protection to individuals from any discrimination as it states that no individual should be excluded from participation in activities because of color, race, as well as national origin. It stands against denial of benefits or subjection to any form of discrimination. This law covers all institutions and education agencies that receive funds, which include the education agencies in the state, the vocational rehabilitation agencies, and the sub-recipients. Seventeen thousand local education systems are part of the law, inclusive of the 10,000 proprietary institutions as well as museums and libraries. The law demands that all the activities and programs that receive the ED funds to operate non-discriminatively as they are not limited to recruitment, admissions, academic programs, guidance and counseling, student services and treatment, classroom assignment, discipline, recreation, vocational education, physical education, and grading. According to the law, the recipient need not retaliate against any individual due to an opposing to an unlawful practice within the education system as well as policy, made changes, that are participated or testified within any complaint action under Title VI. The enforcement of this law is the responsibility of the Officer for Civil Rights within the Education Department in ensuring that institutions under ED funds work according to the law, and the enforcement activity includes investigating and resolving any cases raised on discrimination on national origin, color, or race.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is a regulation that allows for the freedom of appropriate public education to children with disabilities in a country as it makes sure that they receive special education and prevented from discrimination. The regulation governs on the strategies incorporated by the public agencies in the providence of early intervention as well as special education together with related services to toddlers, individuals with disabilities, and eligible infants. The law provides free appropriate public education to individuals with disabilities as it demands that schools should identify and evaluate students alleged with disabilities at no cost on their families. Once determined to have qualified, they should offer special education to them as well as other vital services such as counseling and speech therapy in meeting their unique needs. This is meant to aid the students to excel in their education. It also offers the guardians and parents a voice in the education process of their children, where one has the right to speak up and join in decisions that the school makes for the children. The law offers special protections and rights that are known as the procedural safeguards. It protects the kids from birth all through to high school graduation. Qualification demands that the child should have a disability that is within the 13 categories identified, which are:

• Deaf-blindness
• Autism
• Hearing impairment
• Multiple disabilities
• Emotional disturbance
• Intellectual disability
• Other health impairment
• Orthopedic impairment
• Special learning disability such as dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia among others
• Traumatic brain injury
• Language or speech impairment
• Visual impairment

Having any of these disabilities is not a direct qualification as the children are required to:

• Possess the disability as well as a result of that proves it
• Need special education that will ensure their progress

A good example is a case where a student has ADHD but excels in school. There is a likelihood that the law may not cover this child. There are times when disputes arise between parents and schools on the protection of the children. However, the law provides options for resolving disputes. A parent can take specific steps in cases where the student is denied services under the law. The parents can consider the 504 plan that offers accommodations to assist the children in school. These plans are covered within the section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Getting services under IDEA demands proper evaluation, and if the school thinks that the child has disabilities, they evaluate to render him or her eligible for protection under the law. The evaluation is not only to determine the presence of disability but also to offer information on the support and services that the student need. The school holds an eligibility meeting after the evaluation in the decision of whether the child qualifies for the special education program or not. Cases of positive response demand that the parent works with the school team in the development of individualized education program, which serves as a legal document for the identification of the educational goals for the child as well as support and services that the school ought to provide. The law is in four parts. The first part lays out the fundamental foundation for the rest of the act, where it defines terms incorporated and offers a creation of the Office of Special Education Programs whose responsibility is to administer and carry out terms within the regulation. The second part lays out educational guidelines that serve children of 3 to 2 years, where the law demands that states should educate students with disabilities and that financial support is offered to the local and state school districts. The third part recognizes the requirement of identifying and going out to very young individuals having disabilities. This part gives guidelines that concern the funding as well as services that children need from birth through 2 years as families are also entitled to the services. The fourth part of the law offers a description of the national activities that should be undertaken in the improvement of the education status of children with disabilities. The events in this section involve grants that enhance education as well as transitional services that children with disabilities receive. It also gives resources that aid projects, activities, and programs that are vital in the positive results for children with disabilities.

Case

There have been several cases concerning school bullying concerning freedom of speech. A notable case is the case of Doe v. Galster, No. 13-2551 (7^th Cir. 2014), where a young Russian girl who came to the United States when at two years old suffered bullying during her sixth as well as seventh-grade years because of her ethnicity and gender. This led to the expulsion of three boys from school. Doe went ahead and sued the school as well as the administration in consideration of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as Title IX of the Education Amendments 1972, that claim 42 U.S.C 1983 on the violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Doe had a feeling that the administration of the school was responsible for the actions committed to her because they should have known of the mistreatment and harassment of the students and even act effectively upon it. The Supreme Court ended up interpreting Title IX and Title VI for the imposing of a demanding standard for the institution. The action was taken against the individuals and found guilty, and Doe received justice on the case.

Ayers & United States v. Fordice

Mississippi was sued on January 28, 1975, for the maintenance of an unconstitutional dual system of higher education. The case argued that Mississippi denied black students equal opportunities through favoring the State’s historically white universities and colleges. They were also accused of failure to remove the vestiges concerning racial segregation within the former de jure dual system. The plaintiff sought injunctive relief that was meant to make the higher education system of Mississippi to conform with the statutory and constitutional provisions.

The trial led to a final judgment that was the approval of a $503 million settlement. The Mississippi legislature endorsed that the settlement was to fund a comprehensive plan that would aim for enhancement of the academic programs for seventeen years. The plan would also make capital enhancements and expand the summer programs within the State historically black universities and colleges. It also demanded that the state recognize these universities and colleges as comprehensive universities. The case was dismissed, but there was a retainment of jurisdiction that would enforce the settlement agreement. I believe that the decision met by the court was amicable and useful for the case. The state should not be involved in any racial discrimination and should respect institutions to offer the right learning environment for all students despite their racial status and background. They should be careful to keep and operate according to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Child Evangelism Fellowship v. Lenz

Child Evangelism Fellowship, which is an organization meant to sponsor after-school Good News Bible Clubs, on July 9, 2004, filed a complaint as well as a motion concerning preliminary injunction. This case alleged that the officials of the Upland Unified School District engaged in discrimination against the CEF through granting a chance to non-profit organizations like the Boys Scout a free use of the school facilities, whereas charging the religious organizations rent that was equal to the “direct costs.”

The United States engaged in filing a motion that would allow them to take part as amicus curiae within the case as they will be charged with the enforcement of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law gives authority to the attorney general in seeking for relief when the school deprives students of their equal protection according to the regulations. The United States’ motion was granted.

It later filed a brief that was in support of the plaintiff’s motion concerning preliminary injunction as they made an argument that the district was practicing the charges on religious groups with a fee to use the school facilities for activities that serve local youths when there were no charges on the secular teams. This was a violation of the Fourteenth and the First Amendments due to fee discrimination because of a religious viewpoint.

The court, on November 15, 2004, granted a preliminary injunction for the plaintiff motion and enjoined the district from demanding the CEF to pay rental fees as well as other fees not required of other non-profit community for the use of the facilities.

Later on, February 4, 2005, the court engaged in a stipulated dismissal without prejudice, having an attached settlement agreement that states that the district agreed to permit the CEF equal access to the school facilities under similar conditions and terms as other non-profit groups. I agree with the decision of the court as discrimination should not exist within the education system. Every individual is allowed to access school facilities for the benefit of the students, regardless of their religion or race.

Conclusion

The essential matter at hand that needs a proper approach is not what the speech schools censor but the possibility of whether these schools should censor as well as prevent specific speech that can affect the educational environment for particular students or groups of students. Harassment and school bullying are severe problems that demand national attention as it affects the success of the students and may lead to unnecessary deaths. Young people suffer harsh bullying in schools, which affects their health, emotional stability, and leads to high cases of suicides (Bagley, 2015). School bullying serves as a form of abuse, intimidation, threat, and aggressive dominance. Students have a right to proper education and peace in schools, which makes it the duty of the education providers to ensure that their rights are not interfered with in any way. Bullying in schools is not a new phenomenon, and it is a challenge that affects students globally. Canada has reported over 11.6 percent of boys who have been bullied as compared to 11.5 percent from the United States. Cases of bullying that involve girls are reported as being 17.9 percent in the United States and 17.8 percent in Canada. Bullying often occurred to students who are exposed to negative actions repeatedly. Adverse effects, in this case, are those that are intentionally afflicted or attempts to torment and discomfort or cause injury to another. Many students misuse their freedom of speech to torture other students of different minorities. Teachers and education should come up with proper strategies to curb the problem. Some laws are set to prevent bullying in schools, which include Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Title IX of the Education Amendments 1972. These laws offer full protection of the students against any forms of discrimination and bullying.

References

Al-Ali, N. M., & Shattnawi, K. K. (2018). Bullying in school. Health and Academic Achievement, 47-58.

Al-Raqqad, H. K., Al-Bourini, E. S., Al Talahin, F. M., & Aranki, R. M. E. (2017). The Impact of School Bullying on Students’ Academic Achievement from Teachers’ Point of View. International Education Studies, 10(6), 44-50.

Bagley, C.E. (2015). Managers and the Legal Environment: Strategies for the 21st Century (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.  ISBN: 9781285860374

DeMitchell, T. A. (2011). Bullying and the Conundrum of Free Speech in the United States. Education Law Journal, 20(3), 191.

Doe v. Galster, No. 13-2551 (7th Cir. 2014). Justia. US Law. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/13-2551/13-2551-2014-09-19.html

Menesini, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2017). Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and effective interventions. Psychology, health & medicine, 22(sup1), 240-253.