System of Negligence

Bullying is an epidemic in K-12 schools. After parents detailed their horror stories of schools protecting sexual offenders in my previous article (link here), I received dozens of emails and messages from parents detailing how their child(ren) were treated after claiming they had been bullied. Most students were ignored, blamed as being equally responsible for the bullying, or even disciplined for speaking out. In almost every case, the parents’ requests for action from schools were ignored unless they shared their child’s experiences on social media. But why are schools ignoring such a growing, yet fixable problem? As the saying goes, “Problems ignored will only grow bigger. Face them, tackle them, and they cease to exist.”

Arkansas Law Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-514 explicitly defines bullying and procedures for schools to follow.
Bullying does not have to be a repeated offense, and the child must be believed, even without proof. When I examined over 30 school districts’ bullying policies, 27 out of 30 schools just copied the model policy given by the non-profit Arkansas School Board Association, which added the phrase “pattern of” when defining and giving examples of bullying, but those words are not in the law and defeat the spirit of identifying bullying cases.

Additionally, schools must share all investigation reports to all parties, even if that means a parent is given the name of the student who bullied their child. Schools may not conceal any facts and must conclude the entire investigation within five days, but parents report that is not happening.

The following parents were all forced to call schools demanding what happened to their child and had to request action be taken, yet none were given reports or details on what occurred. Most parents I spoke with feel helpless and don’t know who to contact for help because when they finally reached out to local law enforcement, they were refused any help, stating schools handled their own cases.

Almost every parent admitted that when schools fail to act, not only are their children not being protected, but the bully is not getting the help they desperately need. Additionally, when parents took their problems to community pages on social media, many had their posts removed, revoking them of their 1st amendment rights. The cases below are just a portion of stories I received but show how anyone can be a target of bullying. However, in almost every case, the same response was given by schools – nothing.

Nevada School District: Mother Tammy Clendennen shared emails, audio files and FOIA requests (which were ignored) with me after she stated the school did nothing for her two children who were physically assaulted multiple times on school property; one was even stabbed with scissors. Not only did she beg the school to intervene, but she explained the bully needed some kind of counseling or help. Tammy also shared the audio of the principal stating she was not allowed to share anything online but, after the school refused to act after more incidences occurred to other children,  she posted a video asking for help on how to handle the situation.

Superintendent Mr. Roy McCoy instantly trespassed her from the school property, which she also recorded on audio and subsequently posted online. Tammy also claims that when the sheriff’s department was called, they retaliated against her because the sheriff was her ex-husband’s father. Instead of punishing the bullies, the mother was punished for seeking justice.

Bryant School District: A mother retells the story of how her daughter was bullied multiple times at school and on the bus, even after it was reported to the school officials. Not until the parents threatened to gain a restraining order against the bully did the school finally do their job and suspend the child.

Quitman School District: More allegations have surfaced of staff not following Title IX or the anti-bullying laws. In 2024, according to the parents, some Junior High football players confessed or pled no contest to hazing, harassing, and sexually assaulting their sons in the locker room. Two of the mothers, Angie Edwards and Stephanie White, detailed their son’s abuse and coverup to the State Board of Education on September 12, 2024 (watch at the 5:20 mark here). The mothers claim that a proper Federal Title IX investigation was never started by Quitman School District principal/assistant superintendent Michael Stacks, head football coach/social studies teacher DJ Marrs, and school resource officer Mandee Love, even after they were notified. The victims claimed they were abused with a bullwhip, BB guns, Orbeez guns and tortured physically and sexually.

One mother explained at the hearing that even after the majority of the boys confessed or pled no contest in court, the judge ordered the last boy to be kept away from the victims until his court date, yet the school found a loophole and allowed him to continue playing football. Ironically, the parents thought the school board would help them. According to her testimony during the Arkansas Board of Educators meeting (linked above), the Quitman School Board ignored the parents’ emails, and then one parent was told by school board president Jule Varvil that if she didn’t like the results, she could “go somewhere else”.

Even though the parents used their chain of command and ultimately sought the Arkansas Board of Education’s help, they were sued for defamation by Mr. Stacks and Mr. Marrs (read lawsuit here). The two teachers claimed they did start an investigation and also contacted an outside “law firm,” but their lawsuit does not detail how they followed Title IX investigation procedures as required by law as shown in the picture obtained from the Arkansas Secretary of Education’s memos.

Similar cases of schools denying records, videos and ultimately justice seem to be a reoccuring theme around the entire country. As hard as these few stories are to believe, I will publish “Part 2” on February 10^th, detailing stories from parents in the Cabot School District who have been ignored, threatened, and denied access to legal documents about their child’s abuse. Stay tuned!

Missy Bosch

Missy is the author of “Crushed, but Not Broken”, a story detailing her daughter’s diagnosis and her family’s fight with CNS HLH. She has a passion to improve education and help children with disabilities receive the education and respect they deserve. Missy and her husband are AF veterans and have 4 children.