the backlash continues for big Tech and social media Giants the school district of the chathams is suing Facebook Instagram Snapchat Tik Tok Google and YouTube in federal court claiming the companies are causing quote severe mental harm to young people this is believed to be the first school district in the state to take the companies to court but it's not the first time allegations like these have been lodged it was filed after 14 year old Central Regional High School student Adriana cush died by Suicide following Relentless online bullying as senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports families and students are calling out what they say is a growing culture of bullying and lack of accountability what's frustrating is the familiarity of it right like we should we should know better by now Diane Grossman lost her daughter Mallory to suicide after the 12 year old was bullied at school and online in Rockaway so she felt a sickening sense of deja vu watching parents and students at Central Regional High School rage over Adriana cush's death the Ocean County teen took her life this month after four students assaulted her in school and then posted cell phone videos Adriana's case is a prime example those children did not fear suspension they did not fear getting caught with their cell phones they did not fear recording it and they certainly didn't fear posting it online to shame her Grossman's an anti-bullying Advocate Mallory's lot named for her daughter requires school districts to list consequences for bullying and lets parents file complaints with the schools but Grossman says it's not enough she cited Central regionals reaction imagine the message that that would have sent to every student in that building had those girls left in handcuffs I think school systems need to be trained they need to understand and they need to stop hiding behind the word bullying and start really disciplining some of this Behavior we need to be prepared to kick the kids off the soccer teams kick them off the football teams legislators from the Ocean County District where Adriana lived plan to introduce a measure requiring schools to immediately report assaults on students that cause injury to police a leading Advocate who helped craft New Jersey's anti-bullying Bill of Rights advised caution I don't agree we're turning this issue over to law enforcement that's never been shown to be effective in preventing violence in schools that's not to say that you shouldn't call the police depending on what's taking place Stuart green says bullying arises not from single events it's a pattern revealing the school schools climate and culture at Central regionals board meeting a 2014 graduate says she was bullied there standing here today I wonder how the system has continued to Bev for over a decade why does the central regional culture empowered bullies to go unpunished there are kids in a school who who repeatedly do this kind of thing the school has easily easy awareness of who those kids are and doesn't do anything in advance to keep those kids from behaving that way green recommends requiring schools to do a better job of assessing and Reporting bullying incidents Jane Clementi agrees her son Tyler committed suicide after being bullied at Rutgers University his death prompted New Jersey to pass its anti-bullying law in 2011. schools are afraid to report bullying situations um maybe it's possibly because it's going to hurt their rankings or maybe the outward appearance to the broader Community but it is just foolishness to close a blind eye to aggressive unwanted Behavior the Tyler Clementi Foundation teaches kids to intervene or find an adult if they witness bullying and she also says consequences matter his suspension doesn't do anything and even if they expel someone it doesn't do anything because that person just goes to an another school and continues in their behavior in another school it's about getting intervention so that their behavior they can understand and see that their behavior is wrong not many families take school districts to court over bullying incidents because it's expensive says attorney Jamie Epstein it might be cheaper to sell their house and move to another District or pay tuition somewhere else he notes under New Jersey's anti-bullying law school districts don't have to cover attorneys fees even if they lose the case and says that should change as for cyber bullying the Chatham school district has sued multiple social media giants like Tick Tock and Instagram alleging they cause severe mental harm including bullying Diane Grossman wants to see Federal legislation so number one we've got to change the Cyber component I think that cyber bullying from a federal level should be listed as a hate crime she hopes for a change even as she offers condolences to Adriana's family I I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News [Music]