Teaneck Parents Claim Private School Failed to Protect Daughter From Bullying

A Teaneck couple are suing the Saddle River Day School for allegedly not protecting their daughter from bullying although private schools are not covered by New Jersey’s anti-bullying laws, northjersey.com reported Monday.

Officials at the private school said they voluntarily followed many of the provisions in the state’s 2011 Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. The lawsuit has called attention to the range of anti-bullying policies used by private schools.

Without protection by the state’s anti-bullying law, the Teaneck family sued alleging breach of contract and violations of the Consumer Fraud Act.

“They are not bound by the state law,” the couple’s attorney, Elliot Malone said in the report. “But if you set your own policy and don’t follow that policy, that leads to breach of contract.”

Malone said the bullying involved “social exclusion” and forced the family to pull their daughter from the school in 10th grade, according to the report.

A review by The Record found some Bergen County private schools include lengthy references to elements of the state’s anti-bullying regulations in their own policies while others had little mention of bullying.