Marshall school district releases statement about student protesters
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The superintendent of Marshall Public Schools said in a statement shared with media Monday that no students have been suspended over protests that took place on campus last week.
The protests were related to the district's inaction over a student's rape at a party, several parents and students told ABC 17 News last week. Scores of students and parents gathered outside the school on Friday.
They also said the district was "expelling" students. However, Superintendent Carol Maher wrote in a statement Sunday that was shared with media Monday that no students have been suspended for protesting, adding that doing so would be illegal.
Maher said the district was working with police.
"To continue conversations based on hearsay and conjecture is not only irresponsible, but will likely hinder the procedures and processes in legal efforts to yield truth and justice," Maher wrote. "Marshall Public Schools is fully cooperating with the Marshall Police Department to help ensure accuracy, respect for privacy, and protection for all members of the MHS family."
Some protesters cite the federal law Title IX to make the case that the district should take action against the alleged perpetrators. The law focuses on sexual violence and discrimination at federally-funded education institutions and requires schools to investigate reports of such activity. However, Maher wrote that the law only applies to school-sanctioned events, which the party was not.
"If the school does not have control, Title IX is not applicable. In addition, this incident was initially brought to administration as a student conflict between female students," Maher wrote. "After further investigation, due to the serious nature of the report that the incident happened off school grounds and outside the hours of any school sponsored activity, administrators were rightly motivated to involve the School Resource Officer and Marshall Police Department."
