Toms River (N.J.) district ordered to pay $68,000 to student who was bullied

The state of New Jersey has ordered the Toms River school board to pay a former student more than $68,000 because the district did not take appropriate action to stop bullying in the 1990s. The Asbury Park Press says that the former student, whose name was not disclosed, was the victim of bullying because of his perceived sexual orientation. A news release from the state’s Attorney General’s Office says the case stems from 1999, when the student filed a complaint with the state’s Division on Civil Rights. The student had been subjected to verbal harassment, physical assault and what court documents described as repeated molestation.