Can Bullying Deny FAPE?
NEEA continues to work with more and more students with disabilities that are severely bullied despite strong bulling school policies and state laws. Bullies often target students with disabilities making accessing a safe, appropriate education difficult and sometimes impossible. Under IDEA, every child is entitled to an education.
On August 20, 2013 the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) sent out an advisory related to educators and school districts stating the following:
“Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued guidance to educators and stakeholders on the matter of bullying of students with disabilities. This guidance provides an overview of school districts’ responsibilities to ensure that students with disabilities who are subject to bullying continue to receive free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, States and school districts are obligated to ensure that students with disabilities receive FAPE in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This guidance explains that any bullying of a student with disabilities which results in the student not receiving meaningful educational benefit is considered a denial of FAPE. Furthermore, this letter notes that certain changes to an educational program of a student with a disability (e.g., placement in a more restricted “protected” setting to avoid bullying behavior) may constitute a denial of FAPE in the LRE.
Schools have an obligation to ensure that a student with disabilities who is bullied, continues to receive FAPE as outlined in his or her individualized education program (IEP). IEPs, as well as 504 plans, can be useful in outlining specialized approaches for preventing and responding to bullying, as well as providing additional supports and services to students with disabilities. This guidance also offers effective evidence-based practices for preventing and addressing bullying.”
No child should be denied an education especially because of bullying. Knowing your state laws and policies helps you know your rights. Stopbullying.gov contains an interactive map of each state and their laws and policies. 49 states enacted bullying laws, with Montana being only exception. 43 states adopted bullying policies to guide school districts.
We tell parents to document each incident and summit a report in writing to the school principal or headmaster. Many school have bullying incident reports on their websites to guide parents through the reporting process.
What does bullying look like? According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center, bullying has been defined as:
- The behavior hurts or harms another person physically or emotionally.
- The targets have difficulty stopping the behavior directed at them, and struggle to defend themselves.
- Many definitions include a statement about the ”imbalance of power”, described as when the student with the bullying behavior has more “power”, either physically, socially, or emotionally, such as a higher social status, is physically larger or emotionally intimidating.
Other resources:
Letter from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
National Bullying Prevention Center