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Jury finds school district negligent but not responsible for student's suicide

May 29, 2018 5:00 am

Robert Gavin is reporting for the Times Union a civil jury May 25 concluded that the South Glens Falls school district was negligent in the way it handled the bullying suffered by Jacobe Taras; however, the jury decided the school's failure to handle the matter was not a significant factor in Jacobs's suicide. "All I'm going to say is that we're pleased that the jury reached the correct result," said Malcolm O'Hara, one of the two attorneys representing the school district. Plaintiffs' attorney Ryan Finn told the jury in his closing argument the case was "about schools being held responsible. It's about preventing the next Jacobe." The family was seeking at least $9.25 million in damages. "Whether we received any money or not, that wasn't the point," said the boy's father, Richard Taras, after the verdict. "We now become the brick in the mud that someone else gets to step on. Next time [the district] won't be so lucky, because there's now proof of negligence in the way that they administrate that school." In February, a bill called Jacobe's Law passed the Senate. The measure would require schools to notify parents or guardians if their child is being bullied. Read the full story in the Times Union.

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