Three heartbroken Southern California families have either already filed or plan to file lawsuits against the school districts for failing to stop the relentless bullying that led Rosalie Avila, 13, to hang herself and two other 13-year-olds to attempt grisly suicidal acts. The negligence from various schools across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire has been attributed to the suicide attempts of young girls who suffered at the hands of their cruel bullies for months.
California law defines bullying as “any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct”, whether that is clear to the school officials or not.
California state law already requires that school districts investigate and respond to all complaints of bullying and intervene if any acts of bullying are witnessed by staff but the families are calling for new legislation to create stricter guidelines for when it comes to responding to bullying.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District tweeted out these words after declining to comment on the lawsuit:
SBCUSD is committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and nurturing learning environment for all. With this in mind, it is important that adults recognize potential signs that a child is being bullied as well as a child who is potentially bullying others,” the tweet said. http://www.sbcusd.com/bullying https://twitter.com/SB_CitySchools/status/996462791568457728
The Avila family is working hard to enact legislation called “Rosie’s Law” to better protect victims of bullying that are not getting the proper care and attention that they need.
Fred Avila, the Father, gets his inspiration from his remembrance of Rosalie. “Every day is a hard day without my daughter. She’s such a beautiful, kind person.”
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