Parents of a student who attempted suicide twice because of ongoing bullying at Franklin schools claim the district did nothing to reprimand the students, and want their case heard in federal court.
The parents and child, who are not named in the lawsuit, have filed a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Thomas Blessing of Massillamany Jeter and Carson of Fishers, covers events dating back to 2015. During that time, the student “was the victim of a lengthy, severe and pervasive campaign of verbal and physical harassment by other students at school and on the school bus,” according to the lawsuit, which Blessing filed in the Southern District of Indiana’s U.S. District Court in May.
The goal of the lawsuit is to hold Franklin schools responsible for their inaction. The reason for pursuing a federal ruling is to help families in similar situations across the country, Blessing said.
"We want to make sure we stop this from happening, but schools often don’t take action until they’re forced. The school district knew about both suicide attempts. It continued to happen. The parents begged for years,” Blessing said.
The lawsuit does not name a specific school, but mentions Dave Beck as principal. Beck was principal of Custer Baker Intermediate School when the events in the lawsuit happened. Jim Halik replaced Beck after he retired in December, said David Clendening, superintendent of Franklin schools.
Clendening would not comment on the lawsuit, but said Franklin schools is continuing to make sure the district is a safe place for all its students.
In different grade levels, students are educated about bullying in different ways, and learn how to be inclusive and accepting of others, Clendening said.
For example, in elementary school, students read “You Be You,” a children’s book that emphasizes diversity and acceptance. Fifth and sixth graders learn about the definition of bullying and how to make schools bully-free. They create posters discouraging bullying and focus on creating a positive school environment through kindness and respect, Clendening said.
Middle school students watch videos from a bullying victim’s point of view and hear testimonials of celebrities who were bullied. In high school, guest speakers educate students about bullying and its harmful effects, he said.
“We want a safe school learning environment free of fear and free of anyone feeling inhibited. All the stakeholders are committed: the counselors, teachers, principals, central office, school board, we all want kids to want to come to school,” Clendening said.
“We live in an era where social media is part of everyday life. We talk about social media. We have programs at the middle school. We have parents come in to talk about social media and cyberbullying. We’re a proactive school district in understanding bullying."
But the lawsuit says that Franklin schools ignored harassment, which consisted of both physical and emotional abuse, and bullies didn’t face consequences for their actions. The bullies targeted the student because of her autism, the lawsuit said.
“The school district knows she has autism," Blessing said. "She was bullied because she has a disability and the school didn’t take any meaningful steps to address it. They were indifferent to her situation. They ignored her and her parents’ requests for help. It violates civil rights laws.”
Specifically, the inaction of Franklin schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability and the U.S. Constitution, which has an equal protection clause to ensure people are treated equally, Blessing said.
Thomas Wheeler, the lawyer for Franklin schools, declined to discuss his defense of the district, as he said it would violate the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. Wheeler will file his response to the lawsuit within 30 days, he said.
The student was tormented, kicked, punched and hit by her peers. She was also a victim of cyberbullying, as students told her she should die and used an expletive to describe her mother, the lawsuit said.
The student complained about being bullied every day and developed depression and stomach aches. Along with reporting the bullying to school personnel, parents also sent emails to at least two school employees in April 2017 telling them the bullying was worse than ever. Administrators failed to take action, the lawsuit said.
It was then that the student’s health worsened and she wrote a suicide note, the lawsuit said.
Employees at a Franklin school downplayed her suicide note and called it an overreaction, the lawsuit said.
In May 2017, she attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription medication and was taken to the hospital, the lawsuit said. After the attempt, the parents emailed Beck. Beck told the parents that they didn’t understand the definition of bullying and said it had to involve multiple incidents committed by the same student, the lawsuit said.
Bullying is defined by Indiana law as “overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures” that are intended to “harass, ridicule, humiliate or harm the targeted student."
During the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years, Franklin schools reported no bullying incidents at Custer Baker to the Indiana Department of Education. During the 2016-17 school year, when the student attempted suicide, the district reported two bullying incidents at the school, although it’s not clear if those were related to the student.
The student cut herself with a razor in April 2018 and talked to her private counselor about different ways she planned to kill herself. The student is still alive but is still getting bullied. She now attends a different school, but is still in the same district, Blessing said.
The issue isn’t limited to that student. During April 2018, the student also attended the funeral of someone she knew from school, who moved to another district because of bullying but continued to get bullied online. She committed suicide, the lawsuit said.
“Upon information and belief, there is a longstanding and systemic bullying problem at schools operated by (Franklin schools) and the severity of the bullying is worse for students with disabilities than it is for their peers in general education,” the lawsuit said.
Earlier in the school year, students at Franklin schools responded to a survey about mental health. Forty two percent of students from the middle and high school said either they or someone they knew struggled with thoughts of suicide. Twenty four percent of students said bullying had a negative effect on mental health in the district, while more than half of teachers in seventh through twelfth grade said it did, according to school officials.
The survey came after three students at Franklin schools committed suicide in a span of less than two years.
Five Franklin schools have gone through gold star counseling certification, and the other three mirror the counseling services of those five schools, even though they aren’t officially certified, Clendening said.
Gold star status is given to schools that have comprehensive and accountable school counseling and guidance, according to the Indiana School Counselor Association.
Voters passed a referendum in May that allows Franklin schools to add to its mental health support. With the money, Franklin schools plans to pay the salary of a school-based mental health therapist at every building and a mental health coordinator.
To combat bullying and other harmful activity, Franklin schools want to add a fourth school resource officer. The district activated the STOPit app in April, which allows anyone in the schools to report bullying or suspicious activity anonymously to school administrators.
