Students, family, and friends of Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa gathered to mourn the loss of a student who died from trying to break up a fight. Dakota Escritt stepped in to break up a fight and was hit. The blow knocked him to the floor, and upon hitting his head on the tile floor, was knocked unconscious. Escritt died in the hospital later that night.
The students that were interviewed commented that they believed bullying was the cause of the incident. However, the school's superintendent said that no policy could have prevented this death from happening.
Schools across the nation have implemented anti-bullying policies. In Nebraska, schools and school districts enforce anti-bullying and cyberbullying laws. Any school that receives federal funding must abide by these policies.
According to Nebraska Revised Statute 79-2,137:
(1) The Legislature finds and declares that: (a) Bullying disrupts a school's ability to educate students; and (b) Bullying threatens public safety by creating an atmosphere in which such behavior can escalate into violence.
(2) For purposes of this section, bullying means any ongoing pattern of physical, verbal, or electronic abuse on school grounds, in a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by a school being used for a school purpose by a school employee or his or her designee, or at school-sponsored activities or school-sponsored athletic events.
(3) On or before July 1, 2009, each school district as defined in section 79-101 shall develop and adopt a policy concerning bullying prevention and education for all students.
(4) The school district shall review the policy annually.