Federal Way school district sued for negligence in 3-year bullying case

Published 9:00 am Tuesday, May 24, 2016

A Thomas Jefferson High School student and her mother are suing the Federal Way Public Schools district for failure to take action against bullying that’s lasted at least three years.

The lawsuit, filed by attorneys with Stocks and Firkins, alleges the victim, the victim’s mother and even a security officer contacted school district officials more than 15 times (combined) – and still no corrective action was taken.

The victim claims her bullies have told her to kill herself, they’ve threatened her with physical harm both verbally and through social media, and she’s allegedly on a “hit list.”

Federal Way Public Schools spokeswoman Kassie Swenson said the district takes bullying seriously and has clear policies and procedures in place to address harassment, intimidation and bullying concerns.

“Our school staff is trained on an annual basis on what to do, who to contact, and where to find policies, procedures, forms and other resources,” Swenson said in an email, adding that students are also annually educated on bullying recognition and prevention.

Swenson said the district has requested the attorney for the family for additional time to complete its investigation. And while the district won’t speak to the specifics of the case while the investigation ongoing, officials, Swenson said, are “sympathetic to this claim and the student’s situation.”

“The district is committed to a safe and civil educational environment for all students, employees, volunteers, and patrons, free from harassment, intimidation or bullying,” Swenson said. “The district focuses on establishing a positive school climate and works diligently to respond to issues of bullying when brought to our attention.”

The lawsuit alleges the bullying started at Kilo Middle School in the 2012-2013 school year when the victim stood up for a friend who was being bullied by a group of girls for her weight. Reportedly, “Kilo personnel became aware of the bullying incident,” and the girls then turned on the victim. She allegedly was called “snitch,” was isolated, and often ate lunch alone.

The victim’s mother reported the bullying to Margaret Peterson, the school principal, but her contact wasn’t kept confidential.

“Margaret Peterson assured [the victim’s mother] that the district always follows its policies,” court documents state. “There is no evidence that the district did anything in response to the complaint as required by its policies.”

But the suit states the bullying continued throughout the summer and into the next school year. In fall 2014, the bullies wrote “disparaging things” about the victim in schools restrooms. This time, the victim went straight to the school principal and was allegedly told there was “nothing that could be done about it anymore.”

The girl’s only friend was forced to “choose sides,” and the bullies mocked the victim during lunch – instances that prompted a school security officer to report the bullying. Still, according to the lawsuit, administrators still took no disciplinary action against the perpetrators.

That same school year, a “new bully emerged” who escalated the harassment to social media with a website called ASKfm. Despite the victim showing screen shots of violent threats to school officials, nothing happened and the victim became depressed, anxious, and afraid to go to school.

In May 2015, staff members approached the victim’s mother about the “new bully” who was “aggressively pursuing” the victim. They told her the 14-year-old boy was dangerous and had an extensive criminal record. In response, the victim’s mother went to Vince Blauser, the executive director of secondary schools, but the bullying continued and the mother tried speaking to the parent of one of the bullies. She warned she would go to the police if the harassment didn’t stop.

Once the mother learned of the school “hit list” that summer, she submitted a public records request for information related the her daughter’s bullying history at Kilo. Her request was submitted to Peterson, who allegedly “refused to produce any records without a court order, redacted or not.”

The lawsuit alleges the victim’s mother received no explanatory public records denial.

One month before the 2015-2016 school started, the victim’s mother says she filed a police report that she believes the district was notified of.

Reportedly, after a summer of hearing “everyone hates you, why don’t you go kill yourself?” the victim started her first year of high school in September 2015 seeing a therapist.

But her “new” bully, the boy with the criminal record, was in her first class, and his his behaviour continued and was ignored. During student-led conferences, the victim’s teacher reportedly was “shocked” to learn of the bullying. However, the victim learned that her bully is part of a new group of students who bully the teacher and are “very disruptive to the learning process,” according to the lawsuit.

The victim’s mother followed up with her daughter’s high school principal, the Office of the Education Ombudsman, and again to Blauser, but she says her complaints were ignored.

At the beginning of this year, the victim again filed a complaint – this time her bully was following her around the lunchroom.

On Feb. 11, the victim’s mother was notified that four girls were suspended for “implied threats” toward her daughter and another girl. According to the lawsuit, one of the girls was a longtime bully from middle school who was never disciplined. One week later, the victim heard that two students were discussing “jumping” her after school.

The suit reports the victim’s parents met with the principal and school security officers. On March 3, however, the same students walked by the victim chanting expletives at her. The victim’s mother said she emailed the principal but received no response. The next day, the bullies told the victim they were going to fight her, and the victim’s mother again emailed the principal but again received no response.

The girl is now reportedly prescribed anti-anxiety medication.

The victim and her mother allege the school district was negligent in its supervision and training, which inflicted emotional distress on the victim. The lawsuit also states the school district violated the Washington State Public Records Act when personnel failed to respond in a timely manner to their public records request. They are seeking monetary relief to damages in an amount to be determined at trial.