>Family Brings Civil Rights Claim Against Ridgewood BOE for Sexual Orientation Based Bullying
January 26, 2011
The Case
The complaint, which was filed Jan. 5, claims that 16-year old Matthew Zimmer – represented by his father, David – faced several months of bullying and improper treatment from peers and staff at Ridgewood High School (RHS) due to his sexual orientation.
Included in the Division of Civil Rights’ documentation of the case, Zimmer claimed examples of bullying occurred, including but not limited to:
A health teacher asking during class time if he was “out of the closet” in addition to several other discriminatory comments. The teacher is also alleged to have said to the class that being gay was “caused by having abnormal genes.”
Several students putting sticky notes on his backpack with words like “fat fag” and, at least one student sending a pornographic Facebook message.
Graffiti spelling the words “gay must die” being discovered in the school’s cafeteria. Zimmer said he and his friends saw the graffiti while they were sitting at their lunch table.
Zimmer claimed his health deteriorated in early 2010. He gained more than 50 pounds, he said, and by March he withdrew from all courses on the RHS campus except for chorus, based on medical advice. He continued to work toward completing ninth grade by enrolling in classes online, participating in tutoring and home-schooling.
https://www.njpsa.org/agr/news.cfm?newsid=1051
The Internal Investigation
The Law
What’s Next
The Division on Civil Rights investigates every complaint it receives, but only after preliminary investigation is conducted and probable cause can be established, does a second phase of litigation begin. A Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means the State has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion that New Jersey’s LAD has been violated. The next step is “conciliation” where the division, the family and the board of education try to work out a settlement. If that doesn’t work, the case goes to trial before an administrative law judge.
https://www.njpsa.org/agr/news.cfm?newsid=1051
