Roxana Spady, Nebraska Mother, Says Son Was Hazed, Seeks $650,000 From Columbus Public Schools

A Columbus, Neb. mother has filed a claim against Columbus Public Schools for allegedly failing to protect her now-16-year-old son from bullying and "hazing."

Roxana Spady seeks $650,000 from CPS, accusing adult chaperones and Columbus High School's head wrestling coach Tracy Dodson of poor supervision of student athletes, whom they had taken out of state for wrestling camp in 2009, the Columbus Telegram reports. The claim was acquired by the Telegram under the Freedom of Information Act.

The lack of oversight, Spady claims, was evidenced as the chaperones left the students alone to hit up nightclubs. Consequently, Spady's son was, according to the Telegram, "physically assaulted, held while a team member defacated in a dormitory toilet, and then dunked into that toilet with feces..."

The claim also says that the teen was subject to more bullying after school officials were notified and launched an investigation. CPS Superintendent Troy Loeffeholz told the Telegram that CPS's insurance carrier will decide whether to pay Spady. Spady can later file a lawsuit if the claim isn't settled.

This complaint comes amid several others nationwide that target not student bullies, but the adults who allegedly fail to prevent verbal and physical abuse among those students. In a number of cases, complainants, like Spady, claim that the bullying only gets worse after students report the issues to teachers or school officials.

Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District was hit with yet another lawsuit last week -- from a sixth student who complained that she was the victim of bullying for sexual orientation and gender nonconformity. The complaint says that teachers isolated the student from her peers -- in school hallways and in the cafeteria, to name a couple -- after she complained to teachers about being bullied.

Another lawsuit filed last month in Missouri argues that the Republic School District failed to protect a special education student who alleges she was harassed, sexually assaulted and raped. School officials didn't believe the girl when she reported the incident, and subsequently forced her to write a personally delivered letter of apology to the boy, according to the News-Leader.

Comments

[YoungWarthog]

12:58 PM on 08/25/2011

This didn't happen at school. It happened during a wrestling trip. Why do we administer our sports programs through schools? I am not opposed to sports, just to running them through our schools. In Europe sports are done out in the community, school is for education.

[mikey09]

06:45 PM on 08/24/2011

Goodness, school sure has changed from my days.....is it because these schools are so big today.

[MosesDidItBest]

04:47 PM on 08/23/2011

I say give all the kids guns, then sue the NRA. This is a violent society, so bullying is prevalent.

It's not something new, if it wasn't gender, it would be because the kid is fat, poor, stutters, the wrong religion or the new kid.

Violence of this sort begins at home. This is as much a failure of some administrations as it is the parents. The violence has become more extreme because it's glorified by our leaders.

The gender or sexual preference issue is one engendered, empowered and enabled by some of the leaders in government, some before they got into government and by making same sex marriage an issue.

What is it about Americans who normally are so generous that they become inarticulate with rage when it comes to same sex marriage? It isn't a disease and it can't be cured nor can it be prayed away. Is it that aside from "illegals" do we need another type of victim, another minority fighting for the rights everyone should have?

They aren't second class citizens, except under the law and the extreme phobias people have. People are frightened by what they don't know or what they don't understand.

Bullies need a comeuppance, suing the parents will only anger the parents who will take it out on their bully and push him or her to greater extremes. Let's make dueling legal again.

If we do we can be rid of a lot of politicians.

[murfiani39]

07:39 PM on 08/23/2011

no respect ..... politicans have created an atmosphere of hate and rude behavior. Parents are yelling at teachers, principals and administrators .... the funding has been shut down.... look to where it is suppose to come from... DC.... the house has not done anything since elected. they are waiting until 2012 elections.. I say we can not afford to wait any longer.. Pass budgets that fund education.... control loopholes, fair taxes for all, stop threatening to kill medicare medicaid and SS... Stop bashing teachers, nurses, cops, firefighters, garbage collectors... we are unionized to protect us ... stop making unions a problem is coming from the republican tea party and the party needs to end...wake up America .....write, calll and meet with your congressmen/woman and tell them you are watching and want to know why nothing is getting done in DC and if you can't do it get out of the way so someone else can

[mikey09]

06:48 PM on 08/24/2011

No budget has been passed since 2008 budget, so its not just the GOP holding up the budget process...Nancy had control of the House before Jan 2011

[tequila2040]

09:40 PM on 08/26/2011

I was going to read it all but I got kind of sleepy

[jaye27]

03:10 PM on 08/23/2011

I taught in a rough school for awhile. A student pee'd in a teacher's cup. She barely took a sip and realized what had happened. The student was escorted from school, in handcuffs, by the police and assault charges were filed. The assault was the act of putting bodily fluid in her drink. Seems to me, dunking someone's head in a bowl with feces would fall under the same law.

[RedneckSamurai]

08:14 AM on 09/11/2011

So what you're saying is if you come over to my apartment and use my tirlet I can sue you for putting bodily waste in my drink?

[jaye27]

09:35 PM on 09/12/2011

If your toilet is not used as a toilet, but as a drinking water reservoir and you could prove I knew that, yeah, I would say maybe so. If you could convince a judge that I did it as a deliberate act. But, if you are drinking water from toilets, I think you have bigger issues.

[spoonbill1963]

11:39 AM on 08/23/2011

This lady be nuts.

[El Chingaso]

11:11 AM on 08/23/2011

Just another reason why public schools are a breeding ground for failure...and one-way tickets to the criminal justice system. Sad, but true -- and billions of taxpayer dollar fund this foolishness.

[spoonbill1963]

11:40 AM on 08/23/2011

Very true. Public education is the biggest failure in American history.
China does a much better job. The main difference? In China they discipline the kids.

[healthanalyst]

01:45 PM on 08/24/2011

Teachers and education is an honorable profession also. They pick the best and brightest as teachers.

I remembered we wrestled the local Japanese wrestling team. They had huge califlower ears. Put the fear of god into our team after that. Local newspaper write up was pretty much how undisciplined our team was. Usual American hijinks.

Thing is, out of school, all bets are off. Get picked up by the cops, they call your school. not the parents. Teachers are responsible. Weird system.

[Hlynn]

05:01 PM on 08/24/2011

In China, apparently, students are supposed to be responsible for their learning. Read what this teacher from China said about reteaching students:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/education/10teacher.html?pagewanted=all


This is what politicians and "reformers" have done by taking all responsibility from the students and parents and putting it all on the teachers.

[LiveMind]

03:26 PM on 08/24/2011

Not at all. You can't judge all schools with a blanket judgment, There are many very good public schools.

As far as bullying goes, it goes on in private schools too. Teachers and administrators need to be educated and held responsible, and students who bully should be dealt with, either by suspensions or (better) community service, or, in very serious cases, by calling the cops & charging them. But this is no reason for claiming public schools are failures-- public schools made this country great.

[mikey09]

07:10 PM on 08/24/2011

MADE it great, but schools have changed. Today, its not even close.

[Ifeanyi Akaolisa]

01:21 AM on 08/23/2011

here's a true case of bullying that everyone should rally to...

[healthanalyst]

01:47 PM on 08/24/2011

Way back in HS, that was a royal flush. Never heard of a lawsuit though. Straight flush, flush were other combinations. Our school did more with Ben Gay......

[LiveMind]

03:27 PM on 08/24/2011

And you're proud of this?

[Ifeanyi Akaolisa]

06:31 PM on 08/24/2011

i'd like to agree with you @healthanalyst if i can truly prove to understand what you have tried to convey... but let me brave this point: i think all the noise being raised by supporters of homosexuality have truly drowned out true cases of bullying. when you turn on a computer and someone taunts you, get off the computer. at least they're not laying a hand on you. (my mother always asked me: did he lay a finger on you?) when you're faced with physical bullying where you're beaten and humiliated physically and no one can help, that is "bullying" as i experienced in my time. but it hurts anyway..

[white dude lulz]

11:24 PM on 08/22/2011

I taught my boy how to break the toilet seat and use it to cut up and club bullies. I'm proud of my little man!

[watson185]

09:59 PM on 08/22/2011

Go for it!!! Go after the parents of the little brats that did the deed, as well. The kids should learn that there are consequences for their actions. The "kids will be kids" philosophy does not apply here. I hope she wins! No one should be subjected to this kind of treatment.

[mlaiuppa]

09:25 PM on 08/22/2011

This is why cellphones are forbidden on our campuses. The students use them to text where the administrators and security are so they can plan their fights in an unsupervised area, and move if someone comes.

The tragedy of budget cutbacks is more students and less adults to supervise.

Bottom line is where were the parents of these boys doing the bullying? Where were they when courtesy and values were supposed to be taught? Or is that being foisted on teachers too?

At the very least, the boys responsible should be suspended and their parents better not complain or fight about it. If it were me, I'd expel them.

[murfiani39]

07:45 PM on 08/23/2011

This comes from the home too. these bullies need to be expelled, arrested and barred from any school sport. You need to set an example and follow through.. I am tired of hearing about bullies.. The meanness in our society today is alarming. Society needs to get these bullies out of the school.. Bad behavior is a major problem in the schools. Schools have no support staff or funding to handle behaviors/bullying. Society needs to start early. Kindergarten if not addressed then very difficult to address in 4,5,6 grade almost too late.

[lcr999]

08:39 PM on 08/22/2011

Sounds like a crime to me.

[lcr999]

08:39 PM on 08/22/2011

So, Sue the kids. They are the ones who did it.

[LiveMind]

03:28 PM on 08/24/2011

Agreed. Suspend the teachers/coaches to get the point across about their responsibility; sue the kids.

[valluhree]

08:35 PM on 08/22/2011

"Public" School is a misnomer.

[freethnkr88]

07:53 PM on 08/22/2011

Its the bullies that should be sued.I fell bad for the kid and family but students cant be watched all the time.

[Mr Anonymous]

09:12 PM on 08/22/2011

Especially when you're at the clubs.

[thundermummy]

07:10 PM on 08/22/2011

Shouldn't the lawsuits be directed at the parents of the bullies?

[watson185]

10:02 PM on 08/22/2011

Let the school go after the Parents to recoupe the settlement. The parents will be fighting two cases. One from the school and one from the parents of the child that was attacked.

[CMB1969]

11:31 PM on 08/22/2011

So are the parents supposed to take off from their jobs and shadow their teenage children around the halls of the school? Certainly, by the time kids get up into their teenage years , they have developed there own personality quite separate from their parents.
Mind you, I understand the whole matter about parents teaching values and such, but if I was the counsel for the defendants, I would shoot any such lawsuit down in the courtroom in short order.

[thundermummy]

09:25 PM on 08/23/2011

You are responsible for your kids until they are 18.