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In recognition of the significant harms of bullying and the interconnection of bullying to children’s well-being, the ChildLaw Center launched Loyola’s anti-bullying project in July 2020. The launch of this program was supported by an anonymous donor with a passion for bullying prevention and intervention and is in need of funding to continue to provide critical legal services to children and their families. Through our work, we seek to (1) promote thorough and effective bullying investigations and school-based responses; (2) ensure that a plan is put in place to support targets of bullying and prevent recurrence and escalation; and (3) advocate for school leadership to take proactive steps to prevent and address bullying behavior going forward.

INITIATIVES

Direct Representation: Loyola’s Anti-Bullying Program offers free legal services to children experiencing bullying. With the support of law students, attorneys provide holistic representation to children and their families in school-based and administrative proceedings. Because bullying often intersects with other education-related needs of children, this representation includes work related to bullying, school discipline, special education, and other education-related issues.

Attorney Network: In order to grow the community of practitioners in this area, we intend to develop a network of public and private attorneys to collaborate on case referrals, bullying case strategies, and opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

Policy and Systemic Reform: Through our individual casework and the attorney network, we will also track and document systemic barriers. We will leverage the ChildLaw Center’s expertise to support initiatives in order to impact policy and systemic reform work.