Child is killed during school walk out against gun violence

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

That being the case whoever organized this should be held criminally liable, as a parent if I left my child in school care and the child was taken out of school for any reason at all without my permission I would be spitting fury, if my child was injured or killed there would be hell to pay.

I can safely change my stance knowing this now, not because it was a protest against guns but the sheer lack of professionalism displayed by the educators, the teachers involved as well as the principal should be sacked, prosecuted and then sued.

originally posted by: antar
a reply to: introvert

I would have and furthermore made sure that the school had opposing views on the subject and not bias. Why this shooting and not all the others? Too many conspiracies around the second for any true blue blooded American to fall for the onesided hyperbole. There are so many truly important issues that Children and young adults could champion but they are not popular mass media lead issues and the children would never be in class.

the children could be protesting about a war they have to pay for, for the rest of there lives........your right its not a media lead issue

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

OK, let's go with that. The school was not officially participating. That takes the protest out of the same classification as school-sponsored activities such as field trips or the like.

Every year my kids attended public school, there was a stack of papers to fill out at the beginning of each school year. Among them was a check-out form which had to have the names of anyone, including myself, who was allowed to check the kids out of school. If anyone tried to check them out, and their name was not on that list, they were refused. According to the school board, it was to protect the school should the child be taken somewhere without the guardian's permission because otherwise they were liable for anything that happened to the child.

For school sponsored activities such as sporting events, field trips, etc., there was a separate form for each event that had to be signed by the guardian, relieving the school for any liability. I have signed a crapload of those in my days.

So if the event was not sponsored by the school, and the teachers/organizers/whoever were not on the list as being able to check out each child that attended, the school is still responsible. If a permission slip were signed, liability would likely also fall on the teachers/organizers/whoever unless they specifically stated in the slip that it was not a school function and not authorized by the school.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

I 100% agree with you on all the paperwork involved with children and public schools; had 5 to do all the same paperwork for each and every year, talk about redundant and time consuming.

If we take out the event entirely, it becomes a simple case of truancy, and I think it might depend on the specific legal wording of the relevant laws as to whom would be considered responsible.

I haven't delved too deeply into that state's laws, but here in Texas, if the student is chronically truant, the parent or guardian can face criminal penalties up to and including jail time.

The kid left campus, during school hours of his own volition it is presumed. I think the school screwed the pooch by not having sufficient supervision on hand at the designated area.

It could be argued, however that the school tacitly endorsed the event by even naming the football field as the designated area for anyone who would be participating in the non-approved event.

I think this is where the school put itself on the hook.

All we can do is make educated guesses, so far there has been very little first hand reportage and no updates since the last one I posted, I think.

Just found this after typing the above.

The family blames the school:

Johnathan's uncle, Michael Benko, said Wednesday that the family is struggling with the tragedy. He questioned the district's actions.

“We are aggrieved to know the school refuses to take any responsibility in protecting an 11-year-old child in a walkout that they sanctioned,” Benko said.

The school maintains its stance:

"I know the family is going through a lot and I don’t want to be indelicate, (but) that’s the distortion of the truth," De La Torre said. "The district and the school did not endorse, sponsor or promote the walkout."

Some different numbers reported now and details ok how many were assigned to supervise:

Parkland Middle has nearly 1,400 students, about 400 walked out of class, De La Torre said.

Nine school staffers watched as the students gathered on the football field for about 15 minutes before students returned to class, he said.

As expected, they are treating the students who left campus as truants:

De La Torre said that the students who left school without permission were considered truant.

And the sad part is is that is seems it may have been for no reason whatsoever, not even the misguided notion of restricting the 2nd:

The majority of the students at Parkland Middle probably didn't even know why they left class, De La Torre said.

emphasis mine

It's as others have pointed out, most kids were just looking to get out of class, not support any sort of message.

Parkland Middle School didn't protect student Johnathan Benko during walkout, family says - El Paso Times

I think the school should be held responsible. Specifically whomever created the roster of how many were scheduled to supervise.

Day by day this type incidents are a rapid increase.

We must take a bold step on it.

All this is really very scary. I have no idea what will happen to me when I send my child to school. I'm probably crazy about excitement.