Parents sue Georgia school district over bullying they say led to suicide of son with Asperger's

From The Daily Citizen in Dalton, Ga.:

The parents of the Murray County High School junior who committed suicide on Oct. 17 have filed a lawsuit that claims the school system and principal Gina Linder neglected to protect him from bullying.

The suit was filed in federal court in Rome. It alleges the school system and Linder neglected to adequately protect Tyler Long, who was 17 when he died after what his family says was “a particularly painful week of bullying at the high school.”

Tyler had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, which the family’s attorneys describe as primarily a “social anxiety disorder.” The suit alleges the school system violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and Vocational Rehabilitation Act as well as Tyler Long’s due process rights, and that Linder and school officials did not address the family’s pleas for help.

Stan Hawkins, one of several attorneys representing the school system, said the school district doesn’t believe there is “any merit to the case.”

“It’s a terribly sad situation, but in no way did the school district cause this young man to take his life,” Hawkins said. “We think that the lawsuit will not be successful.”

Messages left for lead school system attorney Wayne Melnick were not immediately returned.

“The essence of the Longs’ allegations is that the high school and its employees and administrators exhibited ‘deliberate indifference’ towards the bullying Tyler was subjected to because they knew of his disability and did not take action to prevent or punish the bullying they were aware of,” a press release from the W. Winston Briggs Law Firm, which is representing the parents, said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages from the school system and Linder as well as recovering court costs and attorneys fees. The school system has 20 days to respond, Briggs said. He said there will likely be several months of discovery before the case goes to trial.

School system spokesman Danny Dunn said the school system’s attorneys are reviewing the documents, but school officials have no comment. Efforts to reach Linder at the high school after the press release was sent late Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful. A home phone number could not be located.

Tina Long, Tyler’s mother, said the family filed the suit because they want to hold the school system accountable for their son’s death.

“We also would like for this not to happen to anyone else,” she said.