Parents allege their hearing-impaired son was being bullied but Three Village school district officials didn't stop it
The Three Village Central School District, its Board of Education and Ward Melville High School principal are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the parents of a hearing-impaired student who was allegedly bullied since the student was in second grade. Credit: John Roca
The parents of a hearing-impaired student in the Three Village school district allege officials there failed to address years of bullying that culminated last June when a classmate threw books at him and broke his nose.
The suit, filed Jan. 16 in federal court in New York’s Eastern District, names Three Village Central School District, its Board of Education and East Setauket's Ward Melville High School Principal William Bernhard as defendants. Newsday isn’t identifying the student or his parents, and it's unclear if the student is still at the high school.
A 19-page suit alleges that officials knew the student, who requires cochlear implants, was being bullied because of his hearing impairment but failed to enforce the district’s anti-bullying and harassment policies, allowing alleged bullies to “continue to act with impunity.” By denying the student “equal access to resources and opportunities” at school, officials violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, Cheryl Berger, the parents' Smithtown-based lawyer, wrote in the lawsuit. Berger also alleged violations of New York State Human Rights Law and other mistreatment of the student, including assault.
The Suffolk Police Department said it did not have records of incidents described in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and attorneys’ fees. The parents and their lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Bullying that began approximately nine years ago when the student was in second grade left him depressed, with thoughts of self-harm and a decline in motivation and grades, according to the suit. The lawsuit, citing an October 2013 incident, states that district personnel knew about the bullying "from the outset."
Deanna Collins, a White Plains-based lawyer for the defendants, denied the allegations in a Feb. 15 filing, writing that her clients always complied with federal and state law and that any damages the plaintiffs might have suffered were “a direct and proximate result of their own actions.”
Collins and Bernhard, Ward Melville's principal, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to Newsday, a district spokeswoman said, “Three Village Central School District does not comment on pending litigation.”
In October 2021, the suit alleges, a teammate on one of the high school's sports teams bullied the student until he cried, then texted an emoji of hearing aids on a group chat with team members. School officials told the student they could have that boy "off the team if you want,” leaving him with what Berger in the lawsuit described as “an impossible choice.” No discipline took place, according to the suit. That alleged bully and others are identified in the lawsuit only by their initials.
In March 2022, according to the suit, three students rifled through the boy’s backpack and stole money. Only one faced mild discipline when he was made to sit out three baseball games, the suit states.
The June 22 incident when the student's nose was broken took place in the school library, where inadequate supervision allowed students to “jump on tables, causing them to collapse, throw books on the floor, eat, sleep and bully and discriminate against each other without consequence,” according to the suit.
Afterward, the student, not his assailant, received a one-day suspension, according to the suit. School deans Matt Fyfe and Jay Negus told the student to rearrange his schedule to avoid his assailant and to switch schools to attend the Three Village Academy, described on the district website as offering a “nontraditional, alternative education environment.”
Fyfe and Negus did not respond to requests for comment.
A Three Village webpage on bullying says the district is “leading the way with its anti-bullying program initiatives.” It names Bernhard as one of the Ward Melville coordinators for the Bullying Prevention and Dignity Act, state law which forbids student harassment and discrimination and makes districts responsible for preventing, monitoring and addressing bullying.
The districtwide Dignity Act coordinator did not respond to an interview request.
According to state education department data, Three Village district recorded 19 incidents of cyber and in-person discrimination, harassment and bullying for the 2020-21 year, the latest information available. Only one incident took place at Ward Melville, whose enrollment is about 1,570.
The parents of a hearing-impaired student in the Three Village school district allege officials there failed to address years of bullying that culminated last June when a classmate threw books at him and broke his nose.
The suit, filed Jan. 16 in federal court in New York’s Eastern District, names Three Village Central School District, its Board of Education and East Setauket's Ward Melville High School Principal William Bernhard as defendants. Newsday isn’t identifying the student or his parents, and it's unclear if the student is still at the high school.
A 19-page suit alleges that officials knew the student, who requires cochlear implants, was being bullied because of his hearing impairment but failed to enforce the district’s anti-bullying and harassment policies, allowing alleged bullies to “continue to act with impunity.” By denying the student “equal access to resources and opportunities” at school, officials violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, Cheryl Berger, the parents' Smithtown-based lawyer, wrote in the lawsuit. Berger also alleged violations of New York State Human Rights Law and other mistreatment of the student, including assault.
The Suffolk Police Department said it did not have records of incidents described in the lawsuit.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Parents say school bullies targeted their son for years because he was hearing impaired.
- They accuse Ward Melville officials of failing to step in.
- The lawsuit rests on alleged violations to the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York State Human Rights Law.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and attorneys’ fees. The parents and their lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Bullying that began approximately nine years ago when the student was in second grade left him depressed, with thoughts of self-harm and a decline in motivation and grades, according to the suit. The lawsuit, citing an October 2013 incident, states that district personnel knew about the bullying "from the outset."
Deanna Collins, a White Plains-based lawyer for the defendants, denied the allegations in a Feb. 15 filing, writing that her clients always complied with federal and state law and that any damages the plaintiffs might have suffered were “a direct and proximate result of their own actions.”
Collins and Bernhard, Ward Melville's principal, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to Newsday, a district spokeswoman said, “Three Village Central School District does not comment on pending litigation.”
In October 2021, the suit alleges, a teammate on one of the high school's sports teams bullied the student until he cried, then texted an emoji of hearing aids on a group chat with team members. School officials told the student they could have that boy "off the team if you want,” leaving him with what Berger in the lawsuit described as “an impossible choice.” No discipline took place, according to the suit. That alleged bully and others are identified in the lawsuit only by their initials.
In March 2022, according to the suit, three students rifled through the boy’s backpack and stole money. Only one faced mild discipline when he was made to sit out three baseball games, the suit states.
The June 22 incident when the student's nose was broken took place in the school library, where inadequate supervision allowed students to “jump on tables, causing them to collapse, throw books on the floor, eat, sleep and bully and discriminate against each other without consequence,” according to the suit.
Afterward, the student, not his assailant, received a one-day suspension, according to the suit. School deans Matt Fyfe and Jay Negus told the student to rearrange his schedule to avoid his assailant and to switch schools to attend the Three Village Academy, described on the district website as offering a “nontraditional, alternative education environment.”
Fyfe and Negus did not respond to requests for comment.
A Three Village webpage on bullying says the district is “leading the way with its anti-bullying program initiatives.” It names Bernhard as one of the Ward Melville coordinators for the Bullying Prevention and Dignity Act, state law which forbids student harassment and discrimination and makes districts responsible for preventing, monitoring and addressing bullying.
The districtwide Dignity Act coordinator did not respond to an interview request.
According to state education department data, Three Village district recorded 19 incidents of cyber and in-person discrimination, harassment and bullying for the 2020-21 year, the latest information available. Only one incident took place at Ward Melville, whose enrollment is about 1,570.
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