RUNNING HEAD: Portfolio Artifact #5

Springer, Miranda Portfolio Artifact #5 1

Portfolio Artifact #5
Miranda Springer
College of Southern Nevada

Springer, Miranda Portfolio Artifact #5 2

Portfolio Artifact #5
Ray Knight, a middle school student, was suspended for three days due to unexcused absences.
Although school districts procedures required telephone notification and a prompt written notice
by mail to his parents, the school only sent a notice by the student, who threw it away. Thus,
Rays parents were unaware of his suspension. During his first day of suspension, Ray was
accidentally shot while visiting a friends house.

1. Do Rays parents have defensible grounds to pursue liability charges against school officials?
Why or why not?
Yes, Rays parents have grounds to pursue liability charges because the school was
negligent and discriminatory to the student. Negligence is determined by four factors: duty, a
breach of duty, causation, and injury (Underwood & Webb, 2006, p. 100). Duty is the trust
between two parties that neither will be exposed to unreasonable risks (Underwood & Webb,
2006, p. 100). The duty on the schools part is sending a letter in the mail and calling the parents;
however, this did not happen.
At this point, a breach of duty through professional malpractice and unreasonable actions
has occurred. Professional malpractice is negligence in performing professional duties; and an
example of this is Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County (Underwood & Webb,
2006, p. 108). In this case, the court found that two counselors failed in their professional
obligations to report to a students parents about suicide statements, therefore, ruled as
professional malpractice because the counselors did not report the statement by the student
(Underwood & Webb, 2006, p. 108-109). Professional malpractice is the breach of duty the
school has committed. The school failed in their professional obligations because they did not

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follow their procedures in place to notify parents of suspensions. This was the malpractice the
school committed when they sent Ray home with a letter.
Unfortunately, since the letter was given to Ray, causation is unsubstantial because he had
intervened. Otherwise, the chain of events of sending the letter in the mail most likely would not
have been interrupted, nor would the student be injured. In the Eisel case, counselors failed in
their professional obligations to guide students and much like this case, Ray was injured as a
result of the school failing in their duty. This is how the parents can pursue the school for
liability.

2. How do you feel the court would rule in this case?

Thecourtwillruleinfavoroftheparentsbecauseoftheschoolsnegligenceand
discrimination.Forexample,inthecaseofLabrumv.WayneCountySchoolBoard,twoUtah
elementarystudentsneededtransportationtoandfromanearbybusstop;theschoolspolicyfor
anewrouteorextensionistheadditionoftenstudentsandtoreimbursethosewhoneeded
transportationtoandfrombusstops(FindACase,2003).Themotheroftheelementarystudents
suedtheschoolfordiscriminationandaviolationoftheEqualProtectionClausebecausethey
wouldnotextendabusroutetoherchildrenandthreeothersnearby;however,thecourtruledin
favoroftheschool.Labrumwasnotdiscriminatedagainst,becauseWayneCountywas
followingthepoliciesalreadyinplacethatdeterminesaneworanextensionofabusroute.
Discrimination in Rays case lies in the fact that Ray was treated differently than the other
students because school policies were not followed. This different treatment was in violation of
the students Equal Protection rights including the schools policies already in place. The Equal
Protection Clause is put in place to ensure government treats those in similar situations with the

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same fairness (Underwood & Webb, 2006, p. 184). The school should have followed their
procedures for the suspension notice, but the school acted unreasonably. Unreasonableness can
be determined by:

Age and maturity of the parties involved;

Nature of the risk involved;
Precautions taken to avoid injury;
Environment and context (i.e. character of student, location,etc);
Activity engaged in; and
Previous practice and experience (Underwood & Webb, 2006, p. 104).

Ray, who is most likely a minor, probably did not want to tell his parents of the
suspension, thus shedding responsibility by throwing the notice away. Previous practice of parent
notification of suspensions also did not happen. Assuming Rays school was in the Clark County
School District of Nevada, the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) section 392.146 states the
school shall provide written notice of referral to the parents (NRS, n.d.). Rays school did not
follow the Nevada statute of notification for suspension. Continuing to assume the school was in
Clark County, the regulation for suspension is to notify the parents in writing (Suspensions,
2004). If the school was acting reasonably and not discriminating against Ray, they would have
followed standard procedures.
The court will rule in favor of the parents because the school failed in their duties by
creating unnecessary risk for Ray without his parents knowledge. By not following prior
procedures, the school violated the students Equal Protection rights through discrimination.
Through this reasoning, the school is liable for Rays injury, which is a result of their
professional malpractice.

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References
FindACase | LABRUM v. WAYNE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD. (2003, March 21).
FindACase. Retrieved July 12, 2012, from
http://ut.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20030321_0000707.DUT.h
tm/q
NRS: CHAPTER 392 - PUPILS. (n.d.). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved July 12, 2012, from
http://leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-392.html#NRS392Sec146
Suspension - Parent Conferences. (2004, August 26). Clark County School District Regulation.
Retrieved July 12, 2012, from ccsd.net/district/policies-regulations/pdf/5114.1_R.pdf
Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). Negligence and Defamation in the School Setting. School
law for teachers: concepts and applications (pp. 100, 104, 108-109, 184). Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.