In August, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter which provides an overview of a school district’s responsibilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to address bullying of students with disabilities. The message of the letter is clear, a school district’s failure to properly address bullying of students with disabilities could result in a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for those students.

While bullying of one student by another student is never acceptable, the letter reminds school districts that students with disabilities are disproportionally affected by bullying. According to the letter, “bullying of a student with a disability that results in the student not receiving meaningful educational benefit constitutes a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA that must be remedied.” Additionally, situations involving a student not previously identified as having a disability may “trigger a school’s child find obligations under IDEA.” Bottom line: “A student must feel safe in school in order to fulfill his or her academic potential.” A copy of the letter is available on the NMP website. School personnel should review the letter and contact counsel with questions.