Centennial inservice 2014 15

Centennial 2014-15 Inservice Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe

Legal Issues Today  Inappropriate Teacher/Student Contact  Social Media Update  Prayer/Religion and First Amendment  Hazing/Locker Room Issues

Inappropriate T/S Contact

Recent Nebraska Incidents  Relationships with recent grads  Relationships with current students  Extortion for grades  Multiple inappropriate messaging cases last year alone  Expanding to all forms of social media: Snapchat, other Apps

Graham v. Ambridge Area Sch. Dist.  Teacher David Costanza slept with baseball team’s student manager  Student and family sued School  Ct. denied Summary Judgment; school and teacher could be sued

Court Relied on These Facts:  Student testified about crude remarks  Dance sign-up sheet  Costanza: “I got in trouble.”  Principal: “I don’t know what you’re doing and I don’t want to know ….”  School knew Costanza communicating with students via IM, e-mail and texts

Social Media: Staff

National Teacher Cases  Probationary teacher: “If you don’t like it. Kiss my brass. LMAO”  Teacher: admin was “a smug know-it-all creep” w/ “a reputation of crapping on secretaries”  “Don’t smoke crack while preg.”  “You’re a retard, but I love you.”

Beware of Selfies  T allowed students to use her cell  Ss found nude selfies, created FB page, and posted pics

Hail to the Bus Driver

Social Media: Students

Social Media

Bullying Heatmap

Polk County, Fla. case  Student bullied on ask.fm and Kik Messenger • “Why aren't you dead?”

• “You should die.”

• “Wait a minute, why are you still alive?”

• “Go kill yourself.”  “Yes ik I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF”

Yik Yak  Anonymous Twitter/Facebook  Users can post messages visible to users within 5-10 miles

Yik Yak Cases  Massachusetts: • School evacuated twice after bomb threats

 Alabama:

• Student arrested after cops traced bomb threat to his phone

 Illinois and Georgia:

• Cyberbullying and threats of suicide

Rumor/Confession Accounts

Chaney v. Fayette Cty. (2013)    

Community Awareness Seminar “Once It’s There—It’s There to Stay” Tech. Coord. used S’s FB pictures Picture showed Chelsea in bikini next to “Snoop Lion” (formerly “Snoop Dog”)  S filed suit, arguing right to privacy  Ct.: “no justifiable expectation of privacy” when posting on FB  Tech. Coord. and school won

Prayer in Activities

Doe v. Duncanville Sch (1995)  School’s basketball coach initiated prayers before games and practices  Teams and coaches gathered at midcourt/mid-field for post-game prayer  Choir had “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” as theme song  Gideons distributed Bibles during school  Student singled out when she declined to participate in prayer

Doe v. Duncanville Sch (1995)  Plaintiff: Unconstitutional endorsement of religion  School • Can’t prevent employees from praying because would violate coach’s free exercise rights • Theme song not endorsement • Gideons not endorsement

Doe v. Duncanville Sch (1995) Ct: “[t]he challenged prayers take place during school-controlled, curriculumrelated activities that members of the basketball team are required to attend.

During these activities . . . coaches and other school employees are present as representatives of the school and their actions are representative of [school] policies.�

Borden v. Sch. Dist. (2009)  School policy prohibited coaches from participating in student prayer  Coach sued  District Ct: nothing wrong with coach participating so long has he did not lead  Appellate Ct: no First Amend. right to pray in employee’s role as public employee  U.S. Supreme Court: denied cert

How to do it lawfully?  All of the activities must be student-led  Teacher-sponsor must be “nonparticipatory” • Can’t pray • Can’t organize • Can’t lead • Can’t answer questions about personal faith • Faculty monitor, facilitate, supervise

Student Prayer/Speech

Taylor v. Roswell (2013)      

Relentless: group evangelized at school Distributed items at school Policy required permission, no disrupt.

Rubber fetus doll distribution Principal (Mr. Luck) confiscated dolls Disruption • Plugged toilets • Thrown at other students  Meeting of admin and Relentless

Taylor v. Roswell (2013)  Students Sued • First Amendment: speech • First Amendment: religion  Tinker Standard: material and substantial disruption  Court: can reasonably forecast disrupt.  “The dolls’ small size made them tempting projectiles and toilet-clogging devices.”

What can you do?    

Closely monitor disruption of class I ♥ Boobies cases Document, document, document Ban all disruption, regardless of viewpoint  “Free time” issues

E-C Supervision Update

First, the Good News!  Personal liability is rare  Tort Claims Act  Rule 27 27

Hazing “any activity by which a person intentionally or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health or safety of an individual for the purpose of initiation into, admission into, affiliation with, or continued membership with any organization…”

Hazing Includes “whipping, beating, branding, forced and prolonged calisthenics, prolonged exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug, or harmful substance not generally intended for human consumption, prolonged sleep deprivation‌â€?

Hazing Includes “…or any brutal treatment or the performance of any unlawful act which endangers the physical or mental health or safety of any person…”

Craig v. Portage Township Sch. (Ind. 2013)

   

Allegations of sex harassment on bus Driver couldn’t see Student: “can anything be done?”

Court Dismissed Suit: • School did not know • When school discovered took action • Failure to train didn’t cause injury

Davis v. Carmel Clay Sch. (7th Cir. 2014)

 Boys basketball team • “gooching” • Dragged freshman into shower • Grabbed and flashed • Bus incident  Court Dismissed Suit: • School did not know • When school discovered took action • Need for training not evident

Mathis v. Wayne Co. BOE (Tenn. 2011)

 Boys basketball team • “lights out” • “blindfolded sit-ups” • “pencil” and “marker” incidents  Court Ruled in Favor of Plaintiffs on Title IX Claim • Coach knew of “horseplay” • School deliberately indifferent through coach’s inaction

C.H. v. Los Lunas Sch. Bd. of Educ., (NM 2012)

 Plaintiff on HS football team • Seniors held down and “physically and sexually battered” him • 2 years prior, another highly publicized incident of hazing in NM involving HS football team  Court: prior incident gave defendants notice of possible hazing

How Common is Hazing?

National study commissioned by North American Interfraternal Foundation (NIF) • 48% of college athletes reported that they had been hazed in high school • Male and Female athletes roughly equivalent (types of hazing differed) • 66% reported they’d observed hazing of others in high school sports

Hazing We’ve Seen in Nebraska    

“Paddling” by upper classmen “Freshmen eat a pepper” day Chugging contests “Russian dick-lette”

Centennial 2014-15 Inservice Bobby Truhe Harding & Shultz (402) 434-3000 btruhe@hslegalfirm.com H & S School Law @btruhe