In 2011, the Connecticut legislature passed a comprehensive anti-bullying law that defines bullying to mean repeated communications, including electronic communications, or repeated physical acts or gestures by a student directed to another student in the same school district that:
- Causes physical or emotional harm to the student who is the target of the bullying or damages his or her property,
- places the student in reasonable fear of harm to himself or herself, or of damage to his or her property,
- creates a hostile environment at school for the student,
- infringes on the rights of the student at school, or
- substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.
Bullying includes, among other things, a written, oral or electronic communication or physical act or gesture based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, or mental, physical, developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an individual or group who has or is perceived to have one or more of such characteristics.
–
If you have any questions related to education law or school bullying in Connecticut, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq. at (203) 221-3100 or e-mail him directly at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.