A US student has settled a court case against school districts that failed to help him when he was being bullied.
The 15-year-old, referred to as J.L., sued the Mohawk Central School District in upstate New York last summer, claiming the school’s administrators stood by while he suffered at the hands of bullies for being effeminate.
Yesterday, J.L settled his lawsuit, with the help from the New York Civil Liberties Union, under which the district agreed to pay compensation of $50,000 to his family as well as reimburse the full costs for his counselling.
Although the district did not admit to any liability, it agreed to implement changes within the school to better protect students from discrimination, and will have to regularly report its progress to federal justice officials and the Civil Liberties Union.
According to the Associated Press, Mohawk Central School’s superintendent Joyce Caputo declared the school would never consciously tolerate discrimination and bullying and said: "We recognise there is always room to learn and improve - and we intend to do just that.”
J.L.’s father felt content with the result and said the money from the district would be invested in his son’s future.
"Maybe this can be a door-opener for other schools,” he added.