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Bullying May be a Denial of FAPE: In a recent decision out of
the U.S. District Court of New York, the Court held that unaddressed school bullying of special needs children may result
in a denial of FAPE and liability on the part of the school district. After an exhaustive analysis of the growing bullying
problem in our schools, including cyber-bullying, the Court noted: "It is not necessary to show that the bullying prevented
all opportunity for an appropriate education, but only that it is likely to affect the opportunity of the student for an appropriate
education. The bullying need not be a reaction to or related to a particular disability." Where bullying
reaches a level where a student is substantially restricted in learing opportunities she has been deprived a FAPE.
Whether bullying rises to this level is a question for the fact finder. Read the full decision in Google Scholar
at: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3849059948167656811&q=T.K.+v.+N.Y.C.+Department+of+Education,+No.+10-cv-00752&hl=en&as_sdt=2,47&as_vis=1.
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Tough New Truancy Laws Could Land You in Jail: Effective
January 1, 2011, California imposed new truancy laws with stiffer penalties. Higher school
drop-out rates equal higher incidents of crime. To address this issue, California lawmakers enacted tougher
penalties against parents of children who don’t attend school. California Education Code Section
48263.6 and Penal Code Section 270.1, provide that any parent or guardian of a K-8th grade child who is subject
to full-time education or continuation education, whose child is a chronic truant (absent from school without “valid
excuse” for 10% or more school days in one school year from the date of enrollment to the current date) who has failed
to reasonably supervise and encourage their child’s school attendance, and who has been offered language accessible
support services to address the truancy, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to two thousand dollars
($2,000), or by up to one year imprisonment in a county jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
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