DaughterSuspended #SchoolFighting #ParentalAdvice #SchoolSafety #BullyingAwareness
Understanding the Suspension
It’s distressing when your child is involved in a school fight and then suspended. This issue is exacerbated when parents aren’t well-informed, as was the case here. A lack of communication from the school adds to the frustration and confusion. Let’s break down what steps you can take and why this situation needs a thoughtful approach.
Immediate Actions to Take
- 🕵️ Gather Evidence: You’ve already got the video from social media. Ensure you save copies of all relevant communications, including threats your daughter received via Snapchat.
- 📞 Contact the School: Continue reaching out to the school administration to discuss the incident. Request a formal meeting to go over their decision in detail.
- 🏫 Request Documentation: Ask for the school’s policy on fighting and suspensions, and for any documentation related to your daughter’s case.
Analyzing School Policies
Understand that schools have specific protocols for handling fights. They are supposed to investigate the incident thoroughly before taking any action. Given the evidence suggesting your daughter was defending herself, you have grounds to question the suspension.
Safety and Negligence Concerns
Your description raises concerns about school safety and potential negligence. Teachers witnessed the event but did not intervene, putting students at risk. Schools are responsible for ensuring a safe environment. Document these safety lapses and present them to the school board if necessary.
Legal Considerations
You mentioned reluctance to involve the police. However, in some cases, reporting the incident might be necessary, especially if the school continues to be uncooperative or if your daughter’s safety is in jeopardy.
Strategies to Ensure Fair Treatment
- 🗣️ Advocate for Your Daughter: Be persistent in communicating with school authorities. Make sure your daughter’s perspective is clearly represented.
- 🖋️ Formal Complaints: File a formal complaint with the school district if you feel the school is not handling the situation justly.
- 👩⚖️ Consider Legal Advice: Sometimes consulting with an education lawyer can provide insights into how to navigate the situation more effectively.
Preventing Future Incidents
Having been through this, it’s crucial to take steps to prevent future issues:
- 📲 Monitor Social Media: Keep an eye on your child’s social media accounts for any signs of bullying or threats.
- 👪 Communicate Regularly: Regularly discuss any school-related concerns with your child. Make sure they feel comfortable sharing their problems with you.
- 📚 Promote Awareness: Get involved in school programs that promote bullying awareness and ensure the school has proper anti-bullying measures in place.
Changing Schools: A Last Resort?
If the environment remains hostile and uncooperative, you might consider transferring your daughter to another school. This decision should come after careful consideration and exploration of all other options.
The Importance of Mental Health
Remember, incidents like these can have a lasting impact on your daughter’s mental health. Ensure she has access to counseling if needed, and create a supportive home environment where she feels heard and understood.
Conclusion
Navigating a situation where your child is suspended for fighting is challenging, but armed with the right information and approach, you can advocate effectively for your daughter. Ensure you keep lines of communication open with the school, document everything meticulously, and don’t hesitate to seek external help if necessary.
The school is not obligated to share the video with you. You should definitely put a spoliation hold on it, however.
You should escalate this to the BoE/Superintendent, and follow your school’s anti-bullying reporting guidelines as well – those should be in the student handbook. The handbook should also outline the disciplinary appeal process.
Your school likely has a zero-tolerance policy for fighting. These are highly criticized as not being effective. These policies punish both the offender and the victim if they use self-defense.
Legally, these are questionable. The State of Georgia ruled against their Board of Education policy and made it illegal to include self-defense in a fight a reason for suspension.
Your problem is this. You might get lucky and find a pro-bono attorney who wants to make a name for themselves and take their local government down a peg. That’s the ideal circumstance. Otherwise, the state board of education has lawyers on staff and can defend them for free. If you pay, these cases can be exorbitantly expensive and may be sent all the way to the Supreme Court for your state. Can you foot that bill to get that off your child’s record? Because it won’t be unwound before the suspension is up. Unless you happen to live in a state that has specifically banned zero-tolerance policies, they are still legal.
Get the police involved. Sounds like battery charges.
First thing I would do is bypass the school completely for the complaint and make an official assault complaint with the police along with the video evidence.
From there you then deal with the school district.
One common mistake people make is thinking the school is in charge of handling assault cases.
They are not. They have their responsibilities however, assault is a police matter.
Call the police and get them involved.
Call a lawyer. It doesn’t cost much to have a lawyer send a letter or two.
Take your child to the doctor and have all injuries documented. Do not trust the school nurse.
Call the superintendent and the school board. Then visit them in person.
Depending on your state, you can also call the regulators at the district/region or state level (whatever it’s called in your area).
If there is a pattern of abusive behavior, call the news.
Never, ever, trust a school district to protect your child. That’s your job.
We had a minor incident with one of my children, one time, nothing to this level. I was very polite and explained exactly how I would handle any future incidents, regardless of what the school wanted to do. I never raised my voice or got upset. “Kids will be kids, I was one once. I’m not one now. Adults will be adults and you don’t want to have me be the adult here.”
They believed me. There were no future incidents.
1) take it straight to the police and file assault charges on the other student
2) while I get your frustration your issue is with admin not the teachers, teachers open themselves up to huge personal and professional liability trying to break up fights and frankly it’s on the school/admin to have properly trained staff to handle security and breaking up fights, especially a school where a student has been in 10 fights
Go to the police and press charges.
Bring your video proof to the police department and file a report. If it is true that this person has been in 10 fights and still allowed to attack others, the school is liable for letting this continue. That student should be banned from school grounds entirely with the zero tolerance policy. Maybe push it as far as getting a restraining order or taking the parents to court. I’d be in jail if this had been my child.
Most school districts have an appeal process that should be listed with her paperwork. I don’t see a location but if you are in Washington State I can walk you through the school discipline rules.
School admin here, not a lawyer.
1) File a police report yesterday. You may not like it. Do it anyway. It’s a paper trail.
2) The school likely can’t give you the video of the fight since other students are in it because of FERPA, assuming any of the other kids faced some consequence. However, you are entitled to view the video at the school. This guidance was issued by the feds years ago. Look it up (or ask me if you can’t find it) and show the school.
3) If I were you, I’d be emailing the superintendent and every member of the BOE.
4) Save any video. Request the school to do the same because you are pursuing criminal charges. It’s called a spoilation hold–you’ll probably want a lawyer to help with that step.
5) I don’t see what exactly would be negligent here. Teachers aren’t required to stop fights, even if it sucks they don’t.
6) Ideally, have a lawyer help you with all of this. One who is familiar with FERPA and school law.
7) I would look up your state’s bullying definition. If this even remotely applies, file a bullying report.
8) I’d file a CPS report too. Idk why exactly… but they make districts sweat.
Unfortunately, there’s not really that much you can do regarding the suspension. Zero-tolerance policies are outdated and stupid. It’s why most schools don’t use them anymore. But it’s a public school, and you don’t get much say in it. I’d be more focused on protecting your kid in the future than worrying about a few days at home.
NAL but a teacher. Most districts have zero tolerance policies for fighting where each person involved gets punished regardless of how they were involved. It is ineffective but it is the policy. I don’t know if a court would uphold that. Also don’t blame the teachers. Most if not all school districts forbid teachers from breaking up fights. If we do and get hurt they will deny our workman’s comp claim. In some instances we could get fired or even arrested. I have been hurt breaking up a fight and been told it was my own fault. Call the police and make a report. Demand that the kid who attacked your kid is placed in a different class. Keep escalating until you get the results you want. School districts are mostly concerned with CYA; the police will likely be more helpful.
Police. Go to the police, ASAP.
No one at the school who can do anything about it cares or will go out of their way to help you. You’ll most likely need to reach out directly to the Board of Education, but absolutely have the police report in hand before doing that.
Police report.
Lawyer.
Restraining order.
A restraining order means the assailant changes school, not the victim.
Straight to the cops.