ACLU sues Nevada school district over bullying

Las Vegas (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday against Clark County school officials, saying they failed to stop a bully who harassed two boys in a junior high band class almost daily, leading one of them to contemplate suicide.

The complaint, filed on behalf of the boys' mothers, seeks policy changes, unspecified damages and a jury trial. It names Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, school board members and employees at Greenspun Junior High School as defendants.

It also accuses the Nevada Equal Rights Commission of dragging its feet on an investigation and failing to resolve the issue nearly two years after a complaint was filed.

Clark County School District spokeswoman Melinda Malone said she couldn't comment on pending litigation. Equal Rights Commission Administrator Kara Jenkins said she couldn't comment on a pending investigation.

According to the lawsuit, the bullying began when the boys started sixth grade at the junior high in Henderson in fall 2011. A student identified in the complaint only by his initials used homophobic slurs toward one of the boys and then turned the taunts toward the other boy who tried to defend the first, accusing the two of being "gay boyfriends," the complaint said.

The bully also stabbed one of the boys in the genitals with a pencil and slapped one of them with a piece of a trombone, according to the lawsuit.

It says the harassment caused the boys' grades to suffer and sent them into depression, prompting their mothers to pull them out of school halfway through the year.

The bullying led one of the boys to have a breakdown, the lawsuit says. He revealed that he had planned his suicide, the complaint says.

The ACLU's filing claimed school district employees were dismissive of the concerns and didn't take action to create a meaningful safety plan for the boys. One of the boys' mothers was barred from volunteering at Greenspun after she complained to the district about the bullying, the claim says.

The mothers filed a complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission in summer 2012, but they have encountered numerous delays along the way and have been given no assurances of when the investigation will wrap up, the lawsuit said.

by Michelle Rindels, Associated Press

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The Gayly – April 30, 2014 @ 9:50am