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For
help with a bullying problem ...
If you or a child you know
is being bullied, get help: tell an adult you trust, or get advice
by calling the hotline maintained by Garden State Equality at 877-NJBULLY or by texting 'njbully' to 66746.
If you are the parent of a bullied child, you should acquire sufficient information to understand the problem by reading through this site, visiting its links, or contacting the Coalition at (908) 522-2581 for further information. You can and should expect your child's school to effectively address the bullying. For a detailed description of what the school can and should be doing, read the book Schools Where Everyone Belongs by Stan Davis, or other materials recommended on this site. Also see the section below ('Bullying can be a crime ... ').
There are beginning to be other legal options as well, whether the bullying is bias-related or not. An increasing number of private lawyers are interested in advocating for families in bullying-related situations. This can be costly. An alternative for those with limited financial resources may be the Education Law Center's pro bono law project, at 973 624-1815, or possibly Legal Services of NJ (800 576-5529).
If
you are an adult concerned about bullying,
learn more about it: read the information and materials available on
this site (www.njbullying.org); visit the other recommended
bullying-related websites; obtain and read the resources/books
recommended in the Coalition 'References' handout (on the Resources
page); get together with others in your community to learn about
bullying and develop anti-bullying projects.
Bullying
can be a crime: Bullying is always
wrong, unjustified, immoral, unfair and hurtful but in certain
situations it's also against existing law. If the bullying is about
race, ethnicity, health - including mental health - or disability,
or gender, involves sexual activity or characteristics, or is a
physical or sexual assault, legal authorities such as police or
government agencies should be notified. If the bullying may involve bias (targeting of a child's actual or perceived minority status or characteristics, including disability), help can be obtained by contacting the NJ Division on Civil Rights at www.njcivilrights.org or (609) 984-3100. Your local police, which has a
community officer trained by the Bias Crime office can also be
contacted. If the bullying is gang-related, the police should also
be contacted.
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