The parents of a special needs student who allegedly hung himself because he could no longer tolerate being bullied at school have filed a federal lawsuit against their son's principal and district.
Tyler Lee Long, diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder, a form of autism that causes social anxiety, was found dead in October, dangling from a belt in his closet. His parents, David and Tina Long, say the honor student was depressed about the abuse he had suffered at school. The teen complained of being mocked, pushed and punched for years, they said.
“He hated school,” his mother said. “They would spit in his food, call him ‘gay,’ smack him and say, ‘I can't wait until you are six feet under!' A lot of [the] time he would go to the counselor’s office and call me. We complained, but nothing much was done. If we had the financial means, we would have put him somewhere else.”
The Longs' attorneys have filed a federal suit in the Northern District of Georgia against Murray County School District in Chatsworth, Ga., seeking punitive damages. They allege Tyler's right to equal protection was violated and that the school administration indirectly played a role in the teen's death.
The lawsuit comes as legislators are considering a bill aimed at offering expanded protections to student victims of bullies. The proposed legislation, which would broaden the definition of bullying to include verbal and written acts that harass, threaten or intimidate, as well as physical acts, like the ones alleged in the Long's case, recently cleared the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee.
The Longs' attorneys said Murray County Schools failed to provide a nurturing educational environment mandated by the 17-year-old's federal Individualized Educational Plan for academic achievement.
"We think the facts of the case will show that not only were they not paying close enough attention to the severity of the situation, they were looking in the other direction,” said W. Winston Briggs, an Atlanta attorney. “We are hoping that we can deter this from happening to anybody else in the future."
Murray County Schools' attorney has not yet responded to the complaint. Dean Donehoo, the district's administrative services director, maintains that neither the principal nor the district is negligent.
“The Murray County School District wishes to express its deepest sympathy to the family of Tyler Long as they deal with the tragic loss of a child," he said in a statement. "For months the School District has dealt with accusations, rumors and innuendo concerning this student ... The process of judicially supervised fact finding has now begun. The School District is fully confident that once the facts are established, those facts will show no fault on the part of the District or any of its employees.”
Last year, the suicide of an 11-year-old DeKalb student who also had complained of bullying brought national attention to the stress schoolyard intimidation can have on students. Some parents of special needs students have used vouchers offered by the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship to transfer their kids to safer campuses that also meet their educational needs.
Tina Long said Murray County High never told her about the voucher program. She said she would have used it to help Tyler finish school elsewhere. The teen, who worked at Captain D's and enjoyed playing video games, wanted to be a graphics designer. He was close to earning a black belt in karate, but he didn’t use his skills to fend off bullies.
"It wasn't in his nature to hurt anyone," his mother said.
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