A tragedy last week in California when a 12-year old boy killed himself after experiencing repeated bullying because of his participation on the cheerleading team.
His parents had gone to the school on multiple occasions to report the bullying and recently took him out of school to begin homeschooling. He was frequently referred to as gay, though friends say he rarely discussed the bullying and kept his feelings to himself.
Given that the school, in Folsom, has acknowledged that the parents did indeed bring the bullying to their attention, there seems to be some admitted culpability. Lawsuit? Not that it would bring back Ronin Shimizu or offer much solace to his family and friends; but it seems that schools are not receiving the message that they need to address and take action when bullying occurs.
