Scool bully threatens my daughter

[Saathoff]

My daughter is 3rd grade student in a public school in Alabama, today she had her life threatened by another student who said she wanted to kill her. My wife confronted her teacher about this and she just shrugged it off like it wasn't important. I'm wondering if there is any legal action I should take concerning this?

 

[justalayman]

I would at least speak with the principal of the school. Not sure what legal action you want to take against a 3rd grade kid that made a threat they may not even understand though.

 

[Saathoff]

I keep reading these news stories about school bullies who cause their to victims to take their own lives, I don't want my daughter growing up feeling threatened by classmates. These bullies should be removed from the school, a suspension and or expulsion may get the point across that bulling will not be tolerated. If these bullies are permitted by school authorities to continue their bullying should I sue the school?

 

[justalayman]

it's a 3rd grade kid. Geesh. Go talk to the principal.

I still haven't figured out what you would sue the school for. Have you?

 

[Saathoff]

Sorry, I don't know either that's why I was asking for advice here. It's just that this bullying may start in 3rd grade and continue and escalate throughout her school career. My wife is particularly upset and I fear she may cause a disturbance with the teacher or principal when she talks with them, I just wanted to be prepared if I would need to take any legal action against the school.

 

[justalayman]

I don't see any legal action possible. The kid said something they shouldn't have. The teacher probably shouldn't have blown it off this simply so speak with the principal and see what s/he says about it.

I would worry more about your wife making a disturbance. It wouldn't be a fun day if you had to bail her out of jail.

 

[Saathoff]

So it seems that the only advice I can take from this is talk to the principal and tell my wife to stop overreacting, thanks for the advice.

 

[aldaron]

As far as I know its illegal to threaten anyones life in probably all states. Being a juvenile doesn't give you a free pass, call the police. Maybe a visit by the boys in blue will awaken the parents and the bully to the seriousness of such threats.

 

[Perky]

As far as I know its illegal to threaten anyones life in probably all states. Being a juvenile doesn't give you a free pass, call the police. Maybe a visit by the boys in blue will awaken the parents and the bully to the seriousness of such threats.

I can say that, in my school, even if the police were called they wouldn't come out to the school unless the child had a weapon or had actually attacked/tried to attack another child.

I agree with Justalayman... Talk to the principal.

 

[csi7]

Talk to the principal quietly and calmly.
You want the bullying incident to be addressed in a professional, fair, and positive legal direction.
Your wife needs to talk to someone who can let her vent about her feelings in a safe and private way. Once she has her feelings in control, she will be able to protect your daughter on her own when she needs to.
Bullying happens in third grade. It happens in kindergarten.
The teacher will work with the principal to handle the bullying with your help.
You will need to keep track of what happens, for future reference.

 

[cbg]

Was this a single instance or part of an on-going problem?

 

[TheGeekess]

And you need to teach your daughter that not everyone in the world is going to be her friend, people will say mean things to her and that it's not the end of the world because someone doesn't like her.

 

[justalayman]

So it seems that the only advice I can take from this is talk to the principal and tell my wife to stop overreacting, thanks for the advice.

what do you want? Even if there was something to do, it would not involve you suing and winning money. If you do not believe speaking with the school administration is enough, call the police. While alderon believes an 8 yo threatening another person is the end of the world, alderon needs to realize that yes, being this age does excuse a person from a lot. Unless the other kid is known to act like this, this will likely be seen as a couple of kids not getting along. If the other child has a reoccurring problem with this, hopefully s/he will get the counseling needed.

 

[Antigone*]

As far as I know its illegal to threaten anyones life in probably all states. Being a juvenile doesn't give you a free pass, call the police. Maybe a visit by the boys in blue will awaken the parents and the bully to the seriousness of such threats.

For Pete's sake we are taking about an 8-year old child. Talk about going for the juggular without even trying to resolve the issue as a competent and reasonable adult.

 

[cbg]

I still want an answer to my question. A single instance is one thing; a pattern of on-going bullying is another.