NEW YORK – The Pine Bush Central School
District has settled a lawsuit filed by five current and former Jewish
students for $4.48 million. The students claimed they were victims of
anti-Semitism in the schools and as a result, sued the district in 2012
accusing officials of failing to protect the students from anti-Semitic
bullying, slurs and other intimidation.
The students had said they found swastikas on walls, desks, lockers and
other school property; were the targets of epithets and nicknames; were
shoved and beaten; and were subjected to students making Nazi salutes.
The agreement, which must be approved by a federal court judge, calls
for the students to receive two-thirds of the settlement with their lawyers
getting the rest.
“The substantial reforms in the Pine Bush settlement are a blueprint
for what school districts across the country should do to prevent and
address bullying in their schools,” said Adele Kimmel, senior attorney
with Public Justice, who served as co-counsel in the case. “The
education and training programs required by the settlement are a particularly
crucial component of any anti-bullying plan. Because the brave students
in this case don’t want others to suffer as they did, schools now
have a roadmap for reducing harassment and improving tolerance.”
Ilann Maazel, of Emery Celli Brinkerhoff & Abady, co-counsel for the
students, said the five children “stood up for themselves, for their
community, and for what is right. After all the suffering, the isolation,
and the trauma they endured, they should be proud that they made a difference
in Pine Bush.”
