of his life in a rare interview with a TV news station in Long Island, New York.
A
ustin Schneiderman endured years of be- ing the target of bullying behavior from elementary school through middle school, which he referred to as the worst three years
Schneiderman recounted incidents of name-call- ing almost daily while in the 6th grade. Tings became more violent in 7th grade. By his 8th grade year, students punched and kicked Schneiderman in the abdomen so hard that he urinated blood. Most of these occurrences happened while riding the school bus. Tere were times, he alleged, that his antagonists
wedged his head between the seats and punched him. He said he received no help from the bus driv- er. He said nothing to his parents. Te situation became so frustrating for Schnei- derman that he planned his suicide. Only when his mother noticed a black eye he brought home from school did his parents have a glimmer of what was happening to their son. Tey later discovered his plan to take his own life. Horrified, they interceded, and retained an attorney. “Tey were at their wits end when they came to
me,” said Neal Goldstein. “Austin didn’t execute the steps, but it was his plan to commit suicide by hang- ing himself with one of his father’s ties. Te bullying occurred not only on the bus, but on and off school property. Tis involved the same assailants.” Now 16, Schneiderman settled with the Farmingdale
School District for an undisclosed amount of money last year.
Schneiderman was a classic case of be- ing the recipient of bullying behavior. His case is also indicative of many parents taking the only option they feel is left to protect their children.
PAY ATTENTION NOW, OR PAY LATER Bullying behavior has been addressed at every
level. Te U.S. Department of Education has deliv- ered guidelines, each state is required to have some anti-bullying policy and most school districts have addressed the issue with a policy. But policies only work when they are enforced. In some areas, it is a matter of pay attention now or pay later. Te past several years have seen a series of lawsuits filed by parents of students bullied on the school bus, and settlements that have cost school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the incidences are chilling. In November, the Pennsauken School District in
New Jersey paid a $500,000 settlement to a high school student who was attacked on the school bus in June 2014 by a girl wielding a knife. Te attack left the victim with a permanent scar on her face.
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