Bullied at School for Years, Billy Wolfe Brings Suit, With His Parents’ Help

Education Law

Bullied at School for Years, Billy Wolfe Brings Suit, With His Parents’ Help

Posted Mar 24, 2008, 06:58 pm CDT
By Martha Neil

How is it that a student can be bullied at school, for years, without officials taking effective action to end the situation? A lengthy article in today's New York Times attempts to answer that question, by telling the story of Billy Wolfe, from his own and his parents' viewpoint.

Now 16 and a high school sophomore in Arkansas, Wolfe, who has a learning disability, allegedly can't go about his own business on an ordinary school day without fearing—often correctly—that he will be harassed, threatened or beaten up.

"Bullying is everywhere, including here in Fayetteville, a city of 60,000 with one of the country’s better school systems," the New York Times reports. Yet, although Billy Wolfe's parents have complained to school officials repeatedly, and several incidents have been documented on film or the Internet, the situation continues.

School officials—who have responded to at least some of their complaints—say they can't explain everything they have done to try to protect Billy Wolfe because of privacy laws. However, his mother says her son has been punished, on occasion, when not he but another student was at fault—and some school records provide support for her contention that he is being blamed in incidents when he is not at fault, the newspaper writes.

Having seemingly exhausted other options, except for potentially moving their son to another school, the Wolfe family sued one of the alleged bullies and several "John Doe" defendants this month and are considering adding the Fayetteville School District to the list of defendants.

"Their lawyer, D. Westbrook Doss Jr., said there was neither glee nor much monetary reward in suing teenagers," the Times reports, "but a point had to be made: schoolchildren deserve to feel safe."

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Posted by Bill - 1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes ago

I wonder what kind of relief Billy Wolfe can really get beyond enjoining the school district to do more. One would think that sovereign immunity would protect the district from damages. Maybe a deprivation of civil rights? The Arkansas Judiciary doesn’t seem to be very sympathetic to those claims. See RUDD v PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, 20 S.W.3d 310 (Ark. 2000); See also Kimberly Miller, note, ARKANSAS CIVIL RIGHTS ACT-SCHOOL DISTRICTS’ LIABILITY FOR PEER ABUSE: ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT HOLDS SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE NO DUTY TO PROTECT STUDENTS FROM EACH OTHER. 23 U ARK LR LR 977 (2001).
Posted by Ragen Johnson - 1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours, 45 minutes ago

Billy Isn’t All That He’S CRAKED UP TO BE He’s A bULLY him self
Posted by "John Doe" - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 21 minutes ago

I go to Fayetteville High School. The whole bullying thing goes both ways. Every time there is a fight teachers and principals take necessary mesasures to ensure the safety and disclipline of all students.
Posted by jk - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes ago

I peronally know Billy Wolfe in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He got beat up becuase he harrased many people to be athiest. He made many people mad because he tried to make them become athiest. These stories make him sound innocent and just a victom of the community. It makes our comunity and school district look bad. He had alot of the beatings coming because he made people mad. STOP SUEING EVERYONE! ENOUGH SAID.
Posted by john doe - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 19 hours, 50 minutes ago

i as well go to billy’s school. i’ve been going to school with him since 4th grade. From the beginning, he’s looked for trouble, wether it’s picking fights, or killing a handicapped kid’s cat (he kicked it in the head). He tried to pick a fight with me in 8th grade, but i shrugged it off. He puts himself in almost every violent situation, by acting tough, pissing people off, and taunting them to fight him. I was personally in the class when he made fun of my friends mother, who died a few years ago, and this was just unacceptable. Although I don’t believe that Billy deserves all of the beatings who’s he’s had, THERE NO EXCUSES FOR MANY OF BILLY’S ACTIONS.
Posted by Carla R. Herrera - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours, 12 minutes ago

I’m a writer in NWA and I know firsthand that NWA is not well known for its hospitality. As a new person to the area (7 yrs. ago) the bullying by adults was a problem for me and once the bullying starts here it doesn’t stop. Kids follow parental models.

As far as Billy deserving this: I think not. And the previous poster said Billy has been here since 4th grade. He should have read the article. Billy has only been in the area since he was 12 yrs old.
Posted by Jane - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes ago

I believe that the situation regarding Billy Wolfe has gotten out of control. No kid deserves to get continuously bullied, no matter how many inappropriate comments he makes. However, as previous comments have stated these “attacks” have not been unprovoked (in most cases). I too live in Fayetteville, Arkansas and attend Fayetteville High School; I can say that the school district takes bullying very seriously. If there is a fight at school, the administration steps in at once and designates the right punishments. In regards to the article presented in the NY Times, I am disgusted. The article was completely one-sided; hardly any other claim was made except that Billy was just the innocent victim. Also, since most of the “john does” who are being sued are minors, the burden is onto the parents. Lawyers can claim that the “john does” bullying of Billy is because of parental negligance. If the case is won by the Wolfe party, they will recieve money from the suit.

I believe that some reporters should investigate more before writing opinion articles that hurt the reputation of a highly educated and safe high school.
Posted by another johndoe - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours, 57 minutes ago

billy wolf is the bully, this is only one side of the story. he tried to bully me (that wasnt gonna hapen) and i found out tonight he bullied my brother. He often thretened him. wouldnt leave him alone. he starts every fight hes been in, he needs help like mental health, by going out and sueing has just made his whole school except maybe 10&#xto;ps anygry because everyone know billys story is a load of bull shit. i really didnt care about it until i heard my mom and brother talking about how he threatened to beat my brother up last year. i dont feel sorry for him anymore..
Posted by first-hand observer - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours, 12 minutes ago

Wow, you’ve got to love editorial journalism. I agree with Barry that bullying is a problem, but Billy’s case isn’t one of bullying. Details like wheel chairs and dead cats aside, Billy is an instigator, and his mother is either in severe denial of her son’s blame or is nothing but an opportunist.
Posted by Rachael - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes ago

I’m completely disgusted that anyone would defend the actions or justify this kind of behavior. Even if someone is an instigator they still don’t deserve to be beat up. Do we not have the intelligence to handle problems in any other manner except violence?
Posted by SpEd Advocate - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes ago

Billy has a learning disability. In my experience as a parent and advocate, “normal” kids and their parents don’t understand how these kids think differently. Even the sweetest kids get rejected and harassed by other kids in the very early grades and the parents do NOTHING. No wonder Billy became angry.

To all you Fayetteville students who posted--I don’t know what was worse, your ignorant and cruel comments or pitiful spelling and grammar. What on earth are they teaching you in this school?
Posted by R. Look - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes ago

Billy.....first off....if any of the other comments about you being atheist are true....then I have no pity for you. If it is a load of BS....Then I have to say this....with a last name like mine....you can bet I got my share of bullying. It doesn’t happen anymore. People can read on my face...not to mess with me. Don’t let them break your spirit. The answer is not to retaliate. Just hang tough. If you haven’t found your place with God....then you should. That might really help. It could even be the answer.
Another thing...I hate cats. But.....don’t go kicking anymore kittens in the head. God likes cats. Trust me on this one.
It all WILL pass. I overcame it. With faith & inner strength you can too.
Wish You Were Here.
Rock on.
Posted by Disgusted - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 4 hours, 51 minutes ago

Considering recent homicides and suicides related to bullying one would think the school district and/or community would work to heal this situation rather than smooth it over or worse fan the flames.
To the South I would offer that your reputation for hatred and intolerance are well deserved. Generation after generation continue to reap the bitter seeds that are sown.
Posted by Mike - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 4 hours, 49 minutes ago

Looks like somebody is selling some I hate Billy Swag. http://www.cafepress.com/blackcoca
Posted by dillon clifton - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 4 hours, 10 minutes ago

THIS KID IS LAYING. I have gone to school with since 8th grade. All he does is try to start a fight. He made fun of one of my friends mom, who has died. My friend hit him in the mouth and left the room. Billy starts it all. He pushed me in the hall last year and ran when we fought. He said he was going to have me killed and picked on me alot of the year.
Posted by Janice - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 3 hours, 6 minutes ago

I agree with Rachael’s earlier comment: WORDS DON’T JUSTIFY A PHYSICAL ASSAULT. I find it disturbing that so many young adults that are posting here believe it is okay to cause injury because Billy said something mean (albeit cruel). I also find it strange that they don’t apply the same disturbing logic by stating how cruel it was to have websites and Facebook pages created to “hate” on Billy.
Posted by MIss V - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 52 minutes ago

For post #15-The correct word you are looking for is lying not laying. Please continue you education!

For post #16 - Words are just that - words. No matter what you think there is no justification for punching someone because they said something you did not like. I believe you are ignorant to say such a thing.

For post #12-You have no pity for someone who is atheist does your god teach you to hate like that? or to judge another? What about those folks such as jehovah witness or mormon’s who try to force there religion on others? Do you hate them too? god does not like ugly and ugly is what you are being.

For post #10 - You are true and correct. I am glad someone understands this.
Posted by Kelly - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 49 minutes ago

Wow, I’m really surprised at a lot of the comments on here.

For R. Look: “if any of the other comments about you being atheist are true....then I have no pity for you. “ Really? That’s how you want to represent yourself and your faith? That those who do not share your faith deserve to be picked on and assaulted?

I too was a victim of school bullying since I was in the 4th grade, and I can say it does a number not only on your self esteem and mental health, but also on your social skills. To this day I suffer from anxiety and am very akward in social situations. That kind of torture screws you up big time - Billy will be dealing with this long after he leaves school.

Good luck to Billy and to all others who have been or are being bullied. It is one of the worst feelings in the world and very hard to get over.
Posted by gene johnson - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes ago

i bet if you look back to the begining of this story it probably started out something like this. Billy was new to the area and as a new kid he probably said the wrong thing to the wrong person all the while attempting to fit in and find his niche. adolescents minds are still going through a maturing phase and controversy is met only with violence as thats the primevil instinct we are born . once we age and mature and better learn how to control our anger and emotions the violence in most rational people will subside. as far as killing the cat goes that was most likely a symptom of the undercurrent of anger he was experincing. the cat was innocent and defenseless and therefore a safe and easy target. i’m sure Billy was venting and transfering agression. i hope that as Billy matures he will reflect back on that single incident and it will burn inside and cause discomfort. i hope this as i would not want him derive joy from it nor encourage such behavior in his children. i say to you billy that you are only going through a phase and it’s time will pass. as far as religion goes you have just as much right not to be religious as others do to be religious. take my advice and keep your religion a private matter as it is inflamatory and will cause you controversy. try hard to dismiss the imaturity of your tormentors and know that what you are going through is one of lifes tough lessons. i too was picked on and bullied as a child and i know what you are going through. remain true to yourself - do not perpetuate or retaliate-- and concentrate on your self and your education as in the future that’s what will seperate you from everyone around you. learn from this and see to it that it makes you a stronger more understading person. GOOD LUCK Billy.
Posted by Kelly - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 38 minutes ago

All, Please keep in mind that the person (John Doe from post 5) who incorrectly claimed to have gone to school with Billy since the 4th grade (he didn’t move to the area until he was 12 - that’s about the 7th grade) is the same person who said he killed a cat. Can we believe that person? Probably not.

“i’ve been going to school with him since 4th grade. From the beginning, he’s looked for trouble, wether it’s picking fights, or killing a handicapped kid’s cat”
Posted by Janice - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

POSTER #17-

Next time read my post (#16) carefully. I was making the exact point you are berating me for. Bravo to you and sharp eye!
Posted by Rob - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour, 57 minutes ago

Trying to get someone to become an athiest does not excuse physical violence. If I attacked every person that tried to persuade me to join their religion, I would be in jail for the next century. That’s where Billy’s attackers should be as well.
I was bullied myself throughout my education, and while some of my attacks may have been provoked, the majority were not. This significantly affected my grades, self esteem, and confidence. I only went to the school for help one time, and that was because I was seriously injured. I simply accepted that the world was an unjust place, and moved on. I wish my parents would have fought back as hard as Billy’s.
I managed to make something of myself, and I pray that Billy is able to rise above the disgusting treatment as well. I wish I knew how to contact him. I would like to send him an email with a vote of confidence, and help him plan for his future.
Posted by Greg - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour, 37 minutes ago

He’s a target because he’s an atheist? If that’s correct, the school and the parents are probably encouraging the violence. In the South, nothing shows Jesus’ love more than a blindside punch.
Posted by Amy - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

What is truly frightening, is how ardently these high school posters believe that they are entitled to physically abuse someone, especially someone with a learning disability, because they said something offensive. And judging from one post, it sounds like what they really had a problem with was Billy not being a fundamentalist Christian. Perhaps this school district should focus a little more on teaching tolerance, grammar, and spelling rather than protecting the bullies. They are probably on the football team or something. In this case, I have no sympathy for the seeming legions of kids who ban together to target one boy- which is just such cowardly behavior. Grow up and stop acting like a mindless mob, no wonder the intelligence of people from the deep South is so often parodied, this does nothing to help it.
Posted by Mandingo - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes ago

"For post #15-The correct word you are looking for is lying not laying. Please continue you education!"-- That being said, I suggest you do the same thing, Miss V. The correct term would be “please continue YOUR education”, not “please continue YOU education”. If you’re going to go around acting like you have an education, at least try to speak properly, you dolt.
Posted by Duana - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour, 1 minute ago

Wow. I’m really embarrassed to be from the South right now. How can all of the kids who are posting on this site be so incredibly uneducated?! The posts displayed here are alarming to me as an American citizen and as a future teacher. Jaw-dropping ignorance aside, has it ever occurred to any of these children his disability most likely has social implications? In all probability, he can’t figure out what is considered inappropriate social behavior. My younger brother and nephew suffer from a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. They are incapable of making friends and are unable to understand the body language and facial/ social cues that tell the rest of us how to act. Billy sounds very much the same. The normal children do not have an excuse for their behavior. In fact, the postings listed here seem to point toward ignorance and violent tendencies as the reason that Billy has been forced to sue kids that should have been able to act better than animals. Lastly, to all of the children that have posted here, get on your knees tonight and thank the heavens that I will not be your teacher. I know I will.
Posted by Rules to Live By - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 49 minutes ago

"Don’t start some and you won’t get none”. Plain and simple. if Billy Wolfe would have learned from the first time that he got popped in the mouth that no one particularly cares for his atheism routine, his world would be so much happier right now.
Posted by someone - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 49 minutes ago

i am offended that someone would think that our school is not teaching students proper spelling and grammer. As a FHS student i know all that goes on with Billy Wolfe and how the situations are handled. Billy talks a lot of smack and its not always the other student that starts the fight, sometimes it is Billy. When Billy gets the short end of the stick, he goes home and tells his mom one side of the story, the side that makes him look innocent. For example the time he was talking about someone’s dead mother (i’m not that someone by the way) that kind of things cuts in deeply and hurts you. Learning disability aside, he still knows what he is doing to some of these kids is wrong.
Posted by D. Gray - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 45 minutes ago

All of you that don’t know him should shut the f**k up, i live across the srtreet from him, i’m the guy in the wheelchair. He’s a lying SOB, his mom wants to be the center of attention. They are in a way hypnotizing yoiu with this BS. If you don’t don’t believe me come talk to me in person, i’d be happy to talk to you. As for you people who think we’re stupid because we might mispell something or not capitalize, it’s because this is the damn internet not school. I just hate how people that have no contact with this kid and his mom, actlike you know the story so well. I’ve had to deal with him since the 4th grade. What you heard about for less than a month and think you know more than we do, here in fayetteville. You need to shut your mouth because you will feel like such a dumbass, maybe not soon but in time you will.
Posted by Kelly - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 37 minutes ago

Hm...of all the kids on here talking about what a horrible human being Billy Wolfe is, I wonder how many are listed in the lawsuit. Their parents might want to restrict their internet access before they harm their defense....
Posted by Someone - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 35 minutes ago

Billy started in the Fayetteville Public School system when he was in 4th grade not when he was 12. He went to Root Elementary. Once again the news has it all wrong. The truth will come out.
Posted by Audra - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 27 minutes ago

I am the parent of a 13 yr old who has been going thru the same thing. Same stuff, different state. We are from Texas and it is no better here. Our hearts go out to Billy and your family. A note to your parents - move your son to a district that is more aware of what is going on. This has solved some of my problems, not all of them, we are still looking for an attorney with enough brass to file suit against a school. Good luck to you! God bless you.
Posted by G. gray - 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days, 24 minutes ago

To everyone in cyberspace that does NOT know Billy Wolfe: Please write down his name on a piece of paper and hang it on your refridgerator, then in a couple of months or maybe years, when you you see that name in the news again, and this time it is for something like a school shooting or armed robbery or possibly because he finally pushed and provoked someone to the point of killing him remember that you were one of the horribly misinformed fools that posted wildly speculative opinions based on the outright lies put forth by the Wolfes. When that day comes will you have the same “do-gooder” mentality that seems to drive you now, and post a retraction? I bet you won’t.
When you don’t know what your talking about, you really should keep your opinions to your self. This kid is bad news and I expect him to generate more headlines in the future. I am willing to bet that it will be very difficult to a positive spin on his legacy.

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