Students and Parents Defaming and Harassing

[catherine60]

I'm writing because my fiance has been accused of shoving and harassing two students. My fiance is the PE teacher and basketball coach at a small private school. The first student backed him against a wall and was an inch from his face with his fists clenched, threatening him repeatedly that he would "f---" him up. There were 14 other students and a coach who witnessed it, and all said my fiance didn't touch him. He told the principal/owner of the school and his parents that my fiance shoved him. Didn't happen. He was kicked off the team, and out of PE, and my fiance stays completely away from him. The police were never called, and no police report was ever filed, as it should have been.
This week, a friend of the first student said my fiance got in his face and screamed at him to shut up. Also, not true. No witnesses. No record of it on the security cameras. My fiance has minimal contact with this student and his siblings, yet the mother came into the office after the boy texted her, and told the administrator that she has told them to record anything my fiance does. And yet, there are no recordings of anything. We think these students are trying to get my fiance fired so the first one can get back on the team.
He has been teaching and coaching for over 30 years, all over the world, and has an impeccable record. The administrators seem torn between standing by him, and believing two known liars who have had all kinds of discipline problems. She is afraid of losing students/money.
What do we do? What rights does my fiance have, as these two families make false accusations against him?

 

[quincy]

I'm writing because my fiance has been accused of shoving and harassing two students. My fiance is the PE teacher and basketball coach at a small private school. The first student backed him against a wall and was an inch from his face with his fists clenched, threatening him repeatedly that he would "f---" him up. There were 14 other students and a coach who witnessed it, and all said my fiance didn't touch him. He told the principal/owner of the school and his parents that my fiance shoved him. Didn't happen. He was kicked off the team, and out of PE, and my fiance stays completely away from him. The police were never called, and no police report was ever filed, as it should have been.
This week, a friend of the first student said my fiance got in his face and screamed at him to shut up. Also, not true. No witnesses. No record of it on the security cameras. My fiance has minimal contact with this student and his siblings, yet the mother came into the office after the boy texted her, and told the administrator that she has told them to record anything my fiance does. And yet, there are no recordings of anything. We think these students are trying to get my fiance fired so the first one can get back on the team.
He has been teaching and coaching for over 30 years, all over the world, and has an impeccable record. The administrators seem torn between standing by him, and believing two known liars who have had all kinds of discipline problems. She is afraid of losing students/money.
What do we do? What rights does my fiance have, as these two families make false accusations against him?

What is the name of your state, catherine60? Defamation laws, like most laws in the US, differ in significant ways from state to state.

To start off, though, a police report should have been filed against the student who shoved your fiancé.

 

[catherine60]

What is the name of your state, catherine60? Defamation laws, like most laws in the US, differ in significant ways from state to state.

To start off, though, a police report should have been filed against the student who shoved your fiancé.

We live in Florida.
We agree that a report should have been filed. Last year, a different student threatened and came after the principal's husband, and the police were called and the student was expelled. Nothing like that was done this time, and if we had filed it on our own, we both would have been fired.

 

[STEPHAN]

and if we had filed it on our own, we both would have been fired.

Why? Can you explain?

 

[quincy]

We live in Florida.
We agree that a report should have been filed. Last year, a different student threatened and came after the principal's husband, and the police were called and the student was expelled. Nothing like that was done this time, and if we had filed it on our own, we both would have been fired.

It is too bad that the administrators are not supporting your fiancé better against the students. The fact that the school did act to remove the one student from PE and the sports team, however, is positive.

Although students' false claims against their teachers have led to defamation suits in the past (in one decided last year in California, a teacher was awarded over $350,000 in damages against a couple of students for false accusations of inappropriate touching), from what you have posted, it does not appear that your fiancé has enough to support a defamation claim. His reputation, while harmed with the false accusations, has not suffered injury to the extent that the costs of pursuing any legal action appears warranted. If your fiancé loses his job over the false accusations, on the other hand, or suffers economic losses of some other sort as a result of the students' attacks on his character, a suit then could be better justified.

I would let the school handle the matter for now and see what happens, although your fiancé could review the facts with an attorney in your area of Florida. If any further threats are made, I think a police report would be something to seriously consider.

 

[catherine60]

Why? Can you explain?

We were encouraged not to contact the police. It would look bad on the school. They didn't come right out and tell us they would fire us, but they swept it all under the rug, like it was no big deal, and we didn't need to file a report. I feel like it should be filed, because the next time this kid erupts, it may help the next person. Also, the principal/owner of the school is friends with the student's father.

 

[quincy]

We were encouraged not to contact the police. It would look bad on the school. They didn't come right out and tell us they would fire us, but they swept it all under the rug, like it was no big deal, and we didn't need to file a report. I feel like it should be filed, because the next time this kid erupts, it may help the next person. Also, the principal/owner of the school is friends with the student's father.

The school would be put in an indefensible position if it fired you for reporting an assault or threats to the police.

It sounds as if the school has tried to handle the matter in-house, which is fine if it works, but it may be outside their control if the students continue to act out against your fiancé. This appears to be more of a school discipline/police matter than a defamation matter at this point.

 

[catherine60]

The school would be put in an indefensible position if it fired you for reporting an assault or threats to the police.

It sounds as if the school has tried to handle the matter in-house, which is fine if it works, but it may be outside their control if the students continue to act out against your fiancé. This appears to be more of a school discipline/police matter than a defamation matter at this point.

Its a rather scary place to work. I miss working in the public schools where they actually had policies in place, and consequences. This school is all about making the principal look good.

 

[quincy]

Its a rather scary place to work. I miss working in the public schools where they actually had policies in place, and consequences. This school is all about making the principal look good.

I have been in some pretty scary public schools and you are right - these schools generally have policies in place to immediately handle disruptive students. These schools work hard to protect the student body as a whole and the school staff.

Problems with students in a school, like the problems encountered by your fiancé, are hard to hide from the other students and their parents for long. If the parents of the other students learn that the principal might be compromising their own childrens' safety by not disciplining the problem students adequately, changes will no doubt be made.

I wish you and your fiancé good luck.

 

[commentator]

Its a rather scary place to work. I miss working in the public schools where they actually had policies in place, and consequences. This school is all about making the principal look good.

Yep, there's nothing quite like working in the good old Private Sector in education and many other fields to make you appreciate working for the actual government or government regulated and controlled entities. It is the federal laws and regulations that make our society less of a place where justice can be bought easily and local political influence is everything. Good luck to you guys as you try to work through this.

 

[quincy]

For a case out of Florida, that provides a different look at school defamation (student v principal) and the fine line schools must often walk when taking disciplinary action against students (especially over student speech), here is a link (that I hope works ) to "Evans v Bayer," No. 08-61952-CIV-GARBER (S.D. Fla., February 12, 2010):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/26901425/Facebook-Order

This case touches on several other student defamation/speech-related lawsuits taken by and against students over the years.

Again, however, what is described by catherine60 appears to be more about threats and a physical assault against her fiancé than defamation.



(if the link above does not work, you can access it, and commentary on the case, through Harvard's JOLT Digest:
http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/jurisdiction/district-courts/evans-v-bayer)