California Business Litigation Blog

Of late, fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince has been an American media icon. The Massachusetts high school student recently committed suicide following a relentless campaign of malicious bullying by ruthless classmates. Her story has served to prompt parents and other concerned parties to ponder the prevention of similar future teen tragedies.

Overall public response has been a veritable rush on government. In response, Massachusetts legislators hurriedly enacted anti-bullying statutes. The new law designates the fourth Wednesday in each January as “No Name-Calling Day” in the Commonwealth.

Touted as the most comprehensive anti-bullying statute in the entire nation, the law goes much further than mere establishment of establishing an official day of anti-bullying observance. It also mandates annual training and mandatory harassment reporting by school personnel.

A prominent query currently on many minds is the likelihood of the law having any real long-term positive impact. Unfortunately, any affect will probably be minimal.

Local authorities made further attempts to deter future bully malfeasance by initiating criminal prosecution against Phoebe’s tormentors. Their sentences to community service with probation led to widespread outrage in many circles. A perceived failure of the criminal justice system was the primary cause of such vehement criticism.

Other commentators have proposed civil suits as the best antidote to the alarming recent rise in harmful teen taunting. Attorney Wendy Murphy publicly promoted federal civil rights litigation by Phoebe’s parents against the school district. Murphy suggested this approach as a strong economic incentive for education officials’ strict adherence to anti-bullying laws..

The sad fact is that virtually every facet of modern society is saturated with bully ented propaganda. From political candidates’ derogatory public statements to primetime television airings right beneath our own roofs, the problem is pervasive.

Sadly, Phoebe’s story is reminiscent of an ancient anecdote about a busy father, his young son, and a magazine. To keep his son sufficiently distracted while he worked, the man tears the page into dozens of pieces and instructs the boy to reassemble them. One side of the page featured a man’s face while the other displayed a globe.

Within moments, the boy returned with the reconstructed picture. When asked how he had accomplished the task so quickly, the child responded that it was easy. It seems that once the man was back together, the whole world also fell right into sync.

Likewise, the most effective anti-bullying approach starts with wholesome adult who examples. Exhibiting courtesy and respect in all interpersonal interactions is the permanent best cure. In the long run, it portends much more effectiveness than mere “Band-aid” solutions of lawsuits and legislation.

Los Angeles schools will have to find a new way to fund extracurricular programs. Currently, many school districts charge activity fees to its students as a way to bring in more funding for the extra programs and activities. Due to a December 2010 lawsuit that ruled it unconstitutional to charge fees for extracurricular activities, school districts will have to come up with a more creative alternative.

The December lawsuit brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed that many area districts were illegally charging students for various activities and clubs. According to the lawsuit, it's illegal to accept these types of fees in a public school district setting. This law is now in effect for activities ranging from sports teams, cheer squads, musical groups, booster clubs and other school community organizations.

Currently, a law is pending which will penalize the school districts that have been illegally charging these fees. The law will also require all educational materials and supplies to be available free of charge.

This will leave many school districts looking for new ways to bring in money for these programs. Many districts are already struggling to keep extra activities and programs available. In order to keep some of these programs, school districts will be looking for donations and volunteer support.

Schools will begin to be audited during the following school year.

Some area schools have already taken steps to get rid of activity fees, and have been successful with a volunteer base. Many of these school districts are able to continue the many extracurricular activities and program without the use of student activity fees.

Unfortunately, many school districts may not be able to get the funding and support that is needed to keep the many programs running. This will make it extremely difficult to have a wide variety of programs and activities for the students.

It will be interesting to see how creative school districts get, when looking for funding options. Hopefully most schools will still be able to provide the same level of programs and activities to students.

Michele Vulcano Hall is currently fighting to keep her case against the Easton Area (PA) School District alive in Federal District Court. The school district’s attorneys have asked the court to dismiss Vulcano Hall’s claims on the grounds that she has failed to prove the violation of any legally-protected right.

In August of 2008, Vulcano Hall was engaged in a practical skills workshop internship when the district offered her a full-time teaching job. She was fired one year later. In her lawsuit, Vulcano Hall alleged she was dismissed in retaliation for her father’s position as a vocal school board member.

In response, the district denied any retaliatory motive. Further, it alleged that Vulcano Hall’s employment was a 10-month temporary position. The district admits, however, that its primary motive for terminating Vulcano Hall’s employment was her failure to attain full certification.

Currently, Vulcano Hall works as a substitute teacher for the district. Although she does not possess full teaching certification, her current credentials are sufficient for substitute teaching. During her prior 10-month teaching tenure in the district, Vulcano Hall taught subjects in multimedia/study skills.

The entire case appears to turn upon two primary points of contention: 1) Whether or not Vulcano Hall’s former teaching position was permanent or temporary employee; and, 2) The true motive for her eventual termination.

Hall’s attorney argued that her client had received written and verbal assurances of 2 to 3-year extension of time to earn full teaching certification. The district had purportedly made an exception to this policy for Vulcano Hall, as she has several long-term learning disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires employers to make “reasonable accommodation” for disabled workers. Felker also invoked a Pennsylvania statute that requires prior unsatisfactory job ratings as a condition precedent for terminating public employment. Allegedly, Vulcano Hall consistently received positive evaluations.
Hall’s attorney asked that the court allow the modification of original pleadings if it finds that they do not sufficiently set forth Vulcano Hall’s legal claims. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows judges to permit the amendment of complaint documents in such instances.

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