My son has been cyberbullied and bullied at his high school, and it’s getting out of hand. The school police department looked into it but said it’s outside their jurisdiction since they couldn’t prove it happened on school grounds. There’s been online petitions against him, people showing up trying to fight him, and even money raised to beat him up. We ended up switching to homeschooling, but the harassment hasn’t stopped, and when I reached out to the police, they said it doesn’t count as a criminal matter. We’ve already tried talking to a lawyer but got bad advice. We’re hoping to find a new lawyer, but honestly, we just want it to stop. Has anyone else dealt with this?
That sounds horrible… Did the school give you any reason why they think it’s not their issue? It definitely seems like it’s impacting your son’s safety and well-being.
Maxwell said:
That sounds horrible… Did the school give you any reason why they think it’s not their issue? It definitely seems like it’s impacting your son’s safety and well-being.
They said because it happened outside of school, they don’t have authority over it. Even though it’s affecting him at school, too, they claim there’s no power imbalance.
@Mackenzie
Power imbalance? Isn’t the whole point of bullying that there’s some kind of unfair situation? Sounds like they’re just avoiding responsibility.
If it’s still happening, definitely keep everything documented. Screenshots, names, texts—anything that shows the harassment. That way, if you decide to pursue legal action, you’ll have a strong case.
Teegan said:
If it’s still happening, definitely keep everything documented. Screenshots, names, texts—anything that shows the harassment. That way, if you decide to pursue legal action, you’ll have a strong case.
We have a lot of that—screenshots, numbers, even the petition they put online. It just feels like there’s no end to it.
@Mackenzie
Sounds like you’re doing all the right things by collecting evidence. Maybe a new lawyer can help push this further.
If you haven’t already, you could try reaching out to the school board directly. Explain how bad it’s gotten and that they need to step in, even if it’s not strictly ‘in-school’. They still have a duty to ensure students’ safety.
@Micah
That’s a good idea, actually. Maybe if the board gets involved, they’ll take it more seriously.
Did you ever tell the main bully or their parents directly to stop? Sometimes it helps to at least let them know you’re serious.
Reeve said:
Did you ever tell the main bully or their parents directly to stop? Sometimes it helps to at least let them know you’re serious.
I’ve avoided doing that because I didn’t want to escalate things. Would telling them make it ‘official’ harassment if they kept going?
@Mackenzie
Yeah, it might. Once you’ve asked them to stop and they keep at it, you can show that it’s been ongoing even after a warning.
Maybe look into online harassment laws too. Since the bullying continued outside school, there might be cyber harassment laws that apply. Also, I’d send an email to the school board to get it on record.
@Pat
I hadn’t thought about cyber harassment laws. I’ll definitely look into that. Thanks for the advice!