Roxana Spady, Nebraska Mother, Says Son Was Hazed, Seeks $650,000 From Columbus Public Schools

School Adults Didn't Protect Student From Being Dunked Into Fecal Toilet, Mother Claims

A Columbus, Neb. mother has filed a claim against Columbus Public Schools for allegedly failing to protect her now-16-year-old son from bullying and "hazing."

Roxana Spady seeks $650,000 from CPS, accusing adult chaperones and Columbus High School's head wrestling coach Tracy Dodson of poor supervision of student athletes, whom they had taken out of state for wrestling camp in 2009, the Columbus Telegram reports. The claim was acquired by the Telegram under the Freedom of Information Act.

The lack of oversight, Spady claims, was evidenced as the chaperones left the students alone to hit up nightclubs. Consequently, Spady's son was, according to the Telegram, "physically assaulted, held while a team member defacated in a dormitory toilet, and then dunked into that toilet with feces..."

The claim also says that the teen was subject to more bullying after school officials were notified and launched an investigation. CPS Superintendent Troy Loeffeholz told the Telegram that CPS's insurance carrier will decide whether to pay Spady. Spady can later file a lawsuit if the claim isn't settled.

This complaint comes amid several others nationwide that target not student bullies, but the adults who allegedly fail to prevent verbal and physical abuse among those students. In a number of cases, complainants, like Spady, claim that the bullying only gets worse after students report the issues to teachers or school officials.

Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District was hit with yet another lawsuit last week -- from a sixth student who complained that she was the victim of bullying for sexual orientation and gender nonconformity. The complaint says that teachers isolated the student from her peers -- in school hallways and in the cafeteria, to name a couple -- after she complained to teachers about being bullied.

Another lawsuit filed last month in Missouri argues that the Republic School District failed to protect a special education student who alleges she was harassed, sexually assaulted and raped. School officials didn't believe the girl when she reported the incident, and subsequently forced her to write a personally delivered letter of apology to the boy, according to the News-Leader.

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