Schools
Report: Education Commissioner Finds Ridgewood Boy Bullied Classmate
School officials determined a student called a girl "fat" and "horse" with intent to bully her.
New Jersey Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf upheld the Ridgewood school district's HIB ruling that determined a B.F. Middle School student called a classmate "fat", "horse", and "fat a**" to bully her.
The record of the case will remain in the boy's district case file though it will not be sent to colleges for applications, Ridgewood Superintendent Dan Fishbein had testified, according to published accounts.
According to The Star-Ledger's account, the incidents took place over the course of 7th and 8th grade. The boy admitted to calling the girl "horse" but denied the other allegations. A judge last month found his testimony unconvincing.
"A reasonable person should know that repeatedly calling a teenage girl ‘fat’ or ‘fat a**’ would have the effect of emotionally harming her," Judge Jeffrey Gerson wrote in his ruling, according to The Star-Ledger.
The boy's father had appealed both rulings, placing the final decision in the hands of Cerf. The education commissioner also dismissed a legal challenge brought by the boy and his father, according to the report.
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