What is the Legal Definition of Bullying

1903 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Anti bullying law argumentative essay

When one thinks of bullying, schoolchildren and their, sometimes abusive, behavior often comes to mind. Their is no real debate about the effects of bullying on both the bully and the victim. However, what is never really considered is the effect bullying has on the law. The New Oxford American Dictionary (Stevenson & Lindberg, 2010) defines ‘bullying’ as “[the] use [of] superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.” This will be the definition used as there is no legal definition of bullying. The fact that there is no federal legal definition of bullying can be dangerous, because “[f]ailing to provide clear definitions of bullying…can lead to inconsistent approaches among school personnel to identification and enforcement” (Stuart-Cassel, Bell & Springer, 2010, p. 23). However, even without a legal definition, “all but one state has now enacted harsher anti-bullying laws with zero tolerance policies in school districts” (Garby, 2013, p. 448). Even though forty-nine states have created anti-bullying laws, there is no consensus. In fact, “fourteen states actually restrict legal definitions of bullying to actions that are persistent, pervasive, or repeated over time; and no states explicitly require that behavior involve an imbalance of power to be legally defined as bullying” (Stuart-Cassel, Bell & Springer, 2010, pp. 25-26). However, as time goes by, everything evolves, and bullying is no exception. With the advent of computers and, perhaps even more importantly, the internet, bullying has evolved into something termed ‘cyberbullying.’ However, with all of this new legislation being created, one question begs to be answered; who will be held liable for acts of b...

... middle of paper ...

... Bullying and Harassment of Students With Disabilities: School Leaders' Legal Obligations. Journal Of School Leadership, 22(6), 1065-1086.

Essex, N. (2011). Bullying and School Liability-Implications for School Personnel. Clearing House, 84(5), 192-196.

Garby, L. (2013). Direct Bullying: Criminal Act or Mimicking What Has Been Learned?. Education, 133(4), 448-450.

Graves, M. (2013). Morrow v. Balaski. Urban Lawyer, 45(4), 1010-1012.

Recent Cases. (2013). Harvard Law Review, 127(2), 795-834.

Schonfeld, S. (2013). Long v. Murray County School District. New York Law School Law Review, 58(1), 215-227.

Stevenson, A., & Lindberg, C. A. (Eds.). (2010). New Oxford American dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Stuart-Cassel, V., Bell, A., & Springer, J. (2011). Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies. U. S. Department of Education.

Show More
Related

  • Bullying: A Major Social Problem in the United States

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)

    Read More

  • Bullying and School Violence: The Colombine High School Shooting

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    The "Mission Possible: Solving the Crime of Bullying." Booklist 1 May 2008: 96. Educators Reference Complete. Web. The Web.

    Read More

  • The Issue of Bullying

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Keep a Lid on Bullying with a Complaint Box.” Curriculum Review, Dec 2003, 11. PaperClip Communications. Infotrac 15 Aug 2004.

    Read More

  • Putting an End to Bullying in America

    2337 Words  | 5 Pages

    America has struggled with bullying for many decades. Bullying is a broad topic. Bullying can be defined many different ways as well as expressed in different ways and places. Bullying has different effects on everyone. Bullying is not only physical, but also affects the victim emotionally and socially. Cyber bullying and verbal bullying are different ways someone harms another person. Sexual harassment is a major form of bullying as well. “Bullying Laws” defines cyberbullying as online emails, text messages, or posts on social media and other websites (“Bullying Laws”). Examples of verbal bullying would be name-calling, threatening, and teasing. Bullying can be between peers, or between different ages. People are not aware of the laws that are in place. “As of October, 2010, 45 states had bullying laws” (“Bullying Laws”). Due to the fact, bullying is so common between many age groups and done in many ways, it is important to recognize the problem and make policies and laws to reduce bullying between all ages.

    Read More

  • Cyberbullying: Prevention and Avoidance

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    Murphy, Wendy J. "Federal Law Requires Schools to Protect Children from Cyberbullying." Cyberbullying. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Suing School Would Shine Light on 'Suicide by Bullying,'." Patriot Ledger 13 Feb. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Myths Of Bullying Summary

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    Research findings contradict the idea that bullying is a “spreading plague” or on the rise each year (Cloud, 2012). According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “37 percent of students” reported that they

    Read More

  • Cyber-Bullying and Teen Suicide

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    Traditional bullying that used to occur commonly on school-grounds has now been over shadowed by harassment through the Internet and other technology related devices. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “cyber bullying” is defined as ...

    Read More

  • Bullying And Harrasment

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bullying and harassment have been long time problems in public schools worldwide. Factors such as race, skin color, physical features, gender, or religion can play a role in the way school children and adolescents are mistreated. Although bullying and harassment has always existed, these two problems have recently worsened. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year and suicide is the third leading cause of deaths among young people making it a whopping 4,400 deaths per year. This is an alarming number regarding how much the numbers have risen that concern bullying and harassment. When bullying is brought up, people tend to automatically link bullying and American schools. However, it goes much more deeper than that, and the roots of bullying have not only spread out of school districts in the United States, but throughout the world as well. Just as bullying is a worldwide problem, harassment is too. It can range from a kid picking on another kid in the school hall to a grown man criticizing a work member in Australia. Several cases have been reported as well as several stories have been spread throughout the world, and no matter where they came from, these all have one thing in common: the involvement of bullying and harassment.

    Read More

  • Bullying In The United States

    360 Words  | 1 Pages

    Bullying is a common occurrence in United States schools and is worldwide issue that is currently at the forefront of national attention. Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves observed or perceived power imbalance. Bullying behaviors is high likelihood of repetition that have happen more than once or potential to happen more than once. Is repeated numerous times or is likely to be repeated. There are different types of bullying include direct, indirect, physical, verbal, rational and physical, and damage to property. Bullying include actions such as making threats, name calling, teasing, spreading rumors or lies, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose

    Read More

  • Ryan Halligan Case Study

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    The bullying and harassment that occurs between these students should not only be up to the parents to deal with, but also up to the school districts. Afterall, parents expect that the students are partially under the school’s protection and responsibility. When the bullying continues outside of school, and personal information is exposed for others to see on social media, it is still up to the district to set the consequences for its students. Because most cases of cyberbullying start at schools, it is nearly impossible for students to avoid the bullies’ torment throughout the day. As for the consequences, a school district’s Code of Conduct must also consider the former record of these bullies and anyone else who is involved. The severity of each student’s punishment shall be partially determined by his or her history of previous misbehavior or faulty actions. In a digital pile on for example, a student may only post a small comment in agreement with a previous post but will still receive the minimal of a written referral and a phone call home, letting the parents know why such measures had to be taken. If the reported bully continues to bother the victim, whether it is in person or through social media services, the consequences will be more harsh for each known violation until expulsion is the only answer. The current Code of Conduct does

    Read More

  • Cultural Intelligence in the Workspace

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stevenson, A & Lindberg C.A. (2010). New Oxford American Dictionary (3rd ed). Oxford : Oxford University Press

    Read More

  • Bullying, Suicide, and Bullicide

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Neimen, Samantha, Brandon Robers, and Simon Robers. “Bullying: A State of Affairs.” Journal of Law & Education (n.d.):n. pag. Print.

    Read More

  • Different types of Bullying

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Bullying." Digital Directions 13 June 2012: 8. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Cyberbullying

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cyberbullying should be a criminal offense because whether it’s bullying or cyberbullying, it still damages a person emotionally and physically. Admittedly, many will argue that it is crossing the line to force perpetrators behind bars when it is not even bullying, but some foul words thrown in social sites. However, there is no difference between cyberbullying and offline bullying when it is still an issue that constantly eats away at its victims, abusing them with hurtful words and messages. “The United States Department of Health and Human Services calculated the percentages of bullied victims, where 37% of teens have been physically bullied, while 52% of teens have been cyberbullied” (Cyber/Bullying Statistics). Studies shown indicate that there have been more cases of cyberbullying than offline bullying, whereas people believe that “cyberbullying is not real bullying” and “it is to speak out in what...

    Read More

  • Causes Of Bullying Essay

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    With technology progressing, students are moving past face to face hectoring, and are verbally bullying other through social media. Cyberbullying can sometimes become more harmful than verbal, physical, and emotional bullying due to victims, not feeling like they have an escape route because they are threatened repeatedly through text messages, e-mails, social media, etc. The worst part about cyberbullying is that the things posted can be anonymous; therefore, there is no blame for who posts what. A victim can suspect that someone is to blame for the actions done, but there is no proof to solve a possible ongoing issue. Cyberbullying and bullying are actually considered a crime when someone: physically assaults another person, gender or racism is talked about, violent or deadly threats are made, sexually texting, inappropriate photos, stalking,

    Read More

More about What is the Legal Definition of Bullying

Open Document