Bullying at school: A family sues its school service center for $18 million

A Montérégie family is suing its school services center for $18 million for the consequences of bullying and arbitrary treatment suffered by its five children at three different schools.

“An angry father [à Berthierville]It could have been us,” says Marie-Josie de Sales, referring to the viral video of a father attacking his son's bully in early February.

“We chose the courts instead,” says the mother of five, most of whom are now adults.

Two parents and five children of the De Celles-Côté family are suing the Hautes-Rivières School Service Center (CSSDHR). The request, filed last September in the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu court, describes facts that Dandurand allegedly took place between 2003 and 2021 at three institutions, including Napoleon-Pourassa primary school and Josephine-Pourassa secondary school.

Five of the children had experienced bullying either from their peers or from adults, as detailed in the more than 140-page case.

Attacked by five students

“During recess, Emmanuel is voluntarily pushed by a student under the watchful eye of non-interfering supervisors. […] She falls headfirst onto the asphalt […] without drawing up an accident report and [les parents] Not reported,” we read there.

“Beated by five peers in the school hall,” sums up the medical note on young Marek, aged 6.

In 6^e Year, we explain in the request, “Marek never puts his bag down, always has all his belongings with him, and is ready to make a quick exit and escape if necessary.”

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Today, Marek is 15 years old. He is in 4th^e High school at a private college, where he received scholarships and honors for his efforts.

But he still bears the after-effects of his time in elementary school. “I have difficulty creating a social circle,” he admits in an interview.

Suicidal thoughts, “post-traumatic stress disorder,” loss of self-esteem: Each of the children suffered in their own way related to what they experienced at CSSDHR schools, the prosecution argued.

Andy Cote-de-Cells, 21, says: “We don't want anyone to have to go through that again.

Push-up in front of the class

“The parents I called stupid, they didn't like it,” says M.^me De Cells worked for another CSS until 2013.

In many cases, children were punished for “their mother's actions”. For example, three children were allegedly forced at different times Push-up Parents who fail to sign the agenda or exam, in front of the entire class, are informed.

“At first, I told myself that it can't be done. I must be completely mad, says M^me From these. I couldn't even imagine that we would take revenge on the children.

In 2019, Marek began to suspect when he “came home with bruises” claiming they were inflicted by the school's special education teacher.

“One-Sided Portrait”

The list of charges included inciting a “one-sided portrait” and spreading “misconceptions” about the family.

The father, Maxime Côté, has had legal problems in the past. But family members interviewed said it never manifested itself in conflicts with the school.

“Their problem was with me”, sums up M^me From these.

In 2014, he contested for the post of school election commissioner. He is “disturbed by his many remonstrances and public outings,” we note in the suit.

The family also alleges that school principals have falsified or concealed documents related to them.

For example, till 2022 M^me De Sales was able to get a statement from the student custodian.

“It's David against Goliath,” sums up the person suing CSS without the help of a lawyer. A hearing took place on February 21, during which it was decided that Marek should have legal representation because he is a minor, explains Ms de Sales.

For its part, CSSDHR indicated by email that it cannot comment on the file.

A few incidents were reported in the search

1) Obsession with hair length

The length of children's hair is a recurring issue in the alleged incidents at Napoleon-Pourassa Primary School.

“You can't participate in physical education class because your mother refuses to cut your hair,” the lawsuit reads among examples of involuntary treatment.

“The teacher, scissors in hand, threatens to cut Andy's hair himself before violently grabbing Andy's arm in front of all the students in the class,” we report.

The subject is also found in the intervention plan of 1^D Year of Marek.

“For his vision, Marek had to tie his hair […] For his safety, Marek must tie his hair.

A photo provided by the mother shows that the 6-year-old boy only had shoulder-length hair.

2) Strange phone calls

In 6^e Year, parents ask Marek to change schools for his safety. Quickly, his grades rebounded. In French, it goes from 58% to 82%, according to the advisory Saint-Jacques school bulletin. Newspaper.

However, parents are under the impression that school staff have been given a mandate to “document everything related to the child and the family”.

A pseudonym from school, Alias, chats with Marek in the evening, asking him “insensitive questions” about his schedule, his bedtime, and the presence of adults in the house.

Saint-Jacques Elementary School, in Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur.

Photo by Pierre-Paul Poulin

At the beginning of high school, Marek receives strange calls from students at his public school who ask him why he is not in class. In fact, Marek attended a private college.

The request states that one of the youths admitted that he interrogated him at the request of a teacher.

If school stakeholders have genuine reasons to be concerned about M's parenting skills^me From Celles, “they had an obligation to report to the DPJ, which they did not do”, we recall in the document.

According to him, these information gatherings conducted by school leaders were aimed at covering up their own wrongdoings.

3) Suspend… but no plan

Ismail de Sales, the eldest child, attended his first three years of secondary school in the private sector. According to the consulted transcript, his average was in the 70%, except for difficulties in mathematics. Newspaper.

It all came crashing down when he re-entered the public to perform his 4^e and 5^e Secondary schools at Beaulieu School (today Josephine-Tundurant), especially for financial reasons, M.^me From these.

The Beaulieu Building at the Josephine-Tandurant Secondary School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Photo by Pierre-Paul Poulin

That's when he started piling up tardiness and absences. Most of the interventions with Ismail involved removing him from his classes to demand that he do “dozens, even hundreds of copies,” which further degraded him.

In 180 school days, he will be subject to 150 suspensions, including detention.

However, no intervention plan was drawn up by the school even though Ismail suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was in a “vulnerable situation”, surprises the student protector in his report.

In the report, a special educator describes Ismail as a drug addict who was arrested twice by the police. “This is wrong. It is based on prejudice and hearsay. He was not arrested. “I called the police because he was running away from school,” says M.^me From these.

4) No problem personally

All the children completed their secondary education in whole or in part in different private schools. Despite the high standards, the family says none of them faced the same problems as CSSDHR public schools.

“After Ismail, I never imagined that another of my children would attend a public secondary school in Saint-Jean. To be honest, I would mortgage my house so they wouldn't go to Beaulieu school, says M.^me From these. We were in debt at times,” he admits.

These financial sacrifices are also part of the claimed damages. This is in addition to the loss of income due to the need to send children back to avoid bullying, as well as the personal costs of consulting psychologists, rehabilitators and other professionals to deal with academic problems and consequences. For example, the experience on the school bus. M^me De Sales has had to put her life on hold to manage all the crises caused by her children's problems in targeted schools, she adds.