Clark County School Board toughens bullying policy
The Clark County School District has toughened its bullying policy, including ordering principals to inform parents within one school day that a student is either a victim of bullying or accused of bullying.
The changes were approved and went into effect Wednesday following a work session of the School Board, a spokeswoman said.
The changes included that principals or their designees shall begin an investigation of a reported incident no later than one school day after learning of it.
District officials say they have been working on revising the new policy since 2012. The new policy aims to bring the district in line with state policies adopted in 2013 by the Legislature.
The district might have to again adjust the policy again if this year’s Legislature changes state law and policy again.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has made education and the “acute issue” of bullying a priority this legislative session, including funding a $36 million grant program called “Social Workers in Schools” to combat bullying.
The district has come under fire and faces a federal lawsuit from the family of 13-year-old Hailee Lamberth, which alleges the district failed to inform them that she was being bullied. Hailee killed herself in 2013 after being bullied by fellow White Middle School students. Her family believes if they had known of the bullying they might have prevented her death.
Henderson’s White Middle School received a written report that Hailee was being bullied three weeks before she shot herself, but didn’t inform her parents. Hailee’s father, Jason Lamberth, learned she was a bullying victim three months after her death when he requested his daughter’s student file and found a bullying report.
The district has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the family’s claim that they lost a chance to intervene was “speculative.”
Contact Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Find him on Twitter: @fjmccabe