Artifact 1

Thomas DeGrand
EA 742- Education Law
Administrator Response Case Study
July 26, 2015
As the Principal of Sutton Elementary, I would take this situation extremely serious due
to the fact that a minimum of three girls were allegedly touched in their private areas below the
belt. My plan of action would be as follows:
Day 1 (day incident occurred):
1. Review district policy for student sexual assault, and prepare interviewing documents.
2. Contact my superintendant to inform him of the alleged incident and the steps I plan to
carry out over the next two days. Seek approval.
3. Interview Amber, Bianca, and Chrissie separately. I would want to know exactly what
they experienced/witnessed. I would ask why they didnt report it to the lunch monitors
first. Lastly, I would ensure anonymity to the best of my ability; I want them to feel safe
talking to me knowing that any information they give me will not be shared with other
students.
4. Interview the fifth grade student, Kendall, to get more information and ensure her
anonymity. Since she didnt know the names of the boys, I would try to have her
describe them to see if her description matches the two boys in question, Hector and Ivan.
I would also ask why she didnt report it to the lunch monitors first.
5. Interview the two sixth grade boys, Hector and Ivan, separately. I would want to hear
their side of the story.
6. Prior to school dismissal, call the parents of Bianca, Chrissie, and Kendall (and Amber if
it is discovered that she was touched as well) to explain the situation. I would assure
them that I am investigating the alleged incident in a timely and comprehensive manner.
I would also assure them that their daughters will not be in the same areas (classroom,
lunchroom, playground, etc.) as the two boys until the investigation is complete. No
names will be shared.
7. Prior to school dismissal, call the parents of Hector and Ivan to explain the situation. I
would assure them that I am investigating the alleged incident in a timely and
comprehensive manner. If the boys admitted committing the sexual assault, then I would
follow district policy of mandatory discipline by having them serve an out-of-school
suspension for the remainder of the week to allow a complete investigation to take place.
If the boys deny committing the sexual assault, then I would explain to them the
allegations being made, our district policy and student code of conduct, and give them an
in-school suspension for the remainder of the week to allow for a full investigation to be
completed.
*Due to the fact that there were only two hours left in the day, some of these steps may have to
occur after school hours.
Day 2 (day after incident occurred):
1. Interview separately the possible witnesses, Darby and Evelyn, ensuring anonymity.
2. Interview the lunch monitors, Mrs. Franklin and Mr. Goodrich, to get their side of the
story. I would interview them separately as well.

3. Interview the sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Jackson, to find out if she overheard any students
talking about the incident that allegedly occurred outside at recess.
4. Interview the fifth grade teacher, Ms. Lippy, to find out if she overheard any students
talking about the incident that allegedly occurred outside at recess.
5. Review all interview notes with superintendant. Determine final charges, if applicable.
(*The fact that Ivan is a model student and is being considered as a recipient of the
Sutton Super Student Scholar Award comes into play when listening to his side of the
story. Due to this great reputation he has built, his story may carry slightly more weight,
but it may not change the outcome. I do see his tremendous track record, however, being
a factor that helps lower his potential days of suspension. Personally, I feel everyones
track record can add/take away weight to their story.)
6. Call and meet with the parents of Hector and Ivan to go over the findings and charges to
their sons. Be sure to have the student code of conduct book out when meeting with them
to help justify the penalties being given!
7. Call the parents of Bianca, Chrissie, and Kendall (and Amber if it was discovered that she
was touched as well) to inform them of the findings. No names will be shared to the
parents.
8. Report back to my superintendent to inform him of the parent feedback that I may or may
not have received during the phone calls.
The fact that this was a case involving sexual assault, I feel the investigation would need to
be expedited to ensure that the girls that were allegedly assaulted are not placed in a location
with the two boys. This clearly would have a substantial disruption to their learning
environment. If the evidence is clear that Hector and Ivan are guilty of touching three girls, then
district policy would come into play and suspensions would ensue. Due to the fact that they are
only in sixth grade, I, as principal, would likely keep the suspensions to ten days or less. I feel
students at this age are sometimes unaware of the seriousness of their actions, and they are still
learning many life/social skills. To suspend them over the ten days mark is unnecessary in my
mind. If they were of high school age, then I feel the penalty would need to be much different.
Lastly, my plan of action/timeline above shows two days, but it would not surprise me if this
process could end up taking three or four days.