Seth Walsh was a 13 year old who suffered severe and frequent harassment in school. His school knew about it and took few measures to stop it. Seth was one of the tragic student suicides this fall that sparked the "It Gets Better" project. A second case of extreme failure of a school to protect a student also came across my GoogleReader this week. A 7th grade special needs student was raped TWICE at school. The first time she was forced to write and hand deliver a letter of apology to her rapist. The facts of these cases are disturbing, but I have to write about them so parents and educators know their rights and responsibilities to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.
Raped at school
The rape case in Missouri didn't get any of the media coverage that the California case is getting, so I will start with that story. The case is summarized by the
Courthouse News Service and I will paraphrase their coverage here. The student, E.R., was enrolled in Republic Middle School and during the 2008-2009 school year she was repeatedly sexually harassed and eventually raped AT SCHOOL by the same student. She reported the rape, but "they did not find E.R.'s allegations credible and they believed E.R. had fabricated the assaults." The school officials allegedly interrogated her without her parent present and E.R. eventually "told school officials what they wanted to hear because they wouldn't believe her." What is even more disturbing is that her psychological profile on file at the school indicates that, "E.R. was conflict adverse, behaviorally passive, and 'would forego her own needs and wishes to satisfy the request of others around so that she can be accepted ...'" In addition to requiring her to write and deliver the letter of apology, she was expelled for the remainder of the school year for, "allegedly fabricating the story of her repeated sexual harassment, assault, and rape." Not very professional treatment of any student, let alone one who is coded as having "special needs."
When E.R. returned to school for the 2009-2010 school year, the harassment and assault continued. The complaint states that "on or about February 16, 2010, during the spring semester of the 2009-2010 school year, F.S., not being subject to any surveillance or monitoring, was able to hunt E.R. down, drag her to the back of the school library, and again forcibly rape her." E.R. immediately informed the school and the mother took her child to the Child Advocacy Center for a Forensic Interview and Sexual Assault Forensic Exam. The results from these tests provided evidence that E.R. had been raped by F.S. In this case, the family is seeking punitive damages for civil rights violations, constitutional violations, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The failure of the school to respond appropriately to these charges and to provide support to this student and her family is appalling. We should expect better from professionals who work with children.
Bullied to death
Seth Walsh's mother has also filed suit against his school district, as well as the Superintendent, the Principal, Vice Principal, teachers and 100 unnamed "Does" that include officers and agents of Tehachapi Unified School District. Her case is also a wrongful death suit and she is, "seeking compensation from the school district stating that the school district failed to prevent the student-on-student harassment and teacher-on-student harassment on the basis that Seth Walsh was to be free from discrimination on the basis of his sexual orientation." Local coverage of the story is available here and the full complaint here.
Seth came out as gay in the 6
th grade and reportedly dressed in clothes that were more "stereotypically feminine" such as "skinny jeans, pedal pushers, scarves, and v-neck t-shirts". Starting in 5
th grade Seth was teased and bullied for being gay and acting "like a girl." These two facts are central to this case as it is based on the harassment he experienced due to his sexual orientation and
gender expression. My
first blog post was about three similar cases that happened in 2008 and 2009. I also wrote a post in the fall of 2010 with
specific tips for schools to address these forms of harassment.
There has been a lot of news coverage this week of the results of the Education Department's investigation of the Tehachapi Unified School District. They found that the school district violated Title IX and Title IV. As a result the school district has agreed to:
- revise its policies and regulations related to sexual and gender-based harassment
- retain a consultant to provide mandatory trainings on sexual and gender-based harassment for all students, administrators, teachers, counselors and other staff who interact with students
- assess the presence of sexual and gender-based harassment in its schools through school climate surveys,
- adopt appropriate actions to address issues identified by those surveys
- form an advisory committee of administrators, students and parents to advise the district on school climate issues related to sex-based harassment.
These are steps that any school can begin taking as soon as they identify that they have a problem in their community related to harassment based on sexual orientation or gender expression. However, it looks like Ms. Walsh has a very strong case, and it is no accident that she filed it just 1 work day after the report was issued on July 1.
What parents & educators can do
Adults need to do everything in their power to protect the children in their care. Most parents try to advocate strongly for their children, but in the face of inaction by the professionals at the school it can be very difficult to improve the situation for your child. If your child is experiencing any sort of harassment, here are 5 things you can do to help support your child and improve his/her life at school:
