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PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT #3

Portfolio Assignment #3
The Ray Knight Case
Paula Ellico
College of Southern Nevada

PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT #3

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Abstract

My research topic is the case of Ray Knight and the liability of the school of his injury. The main
questions I pose are: Can the school be called responsible? Do the parents have the right to sue and/or
press charges? The assignment made the claim that the school district's policy was that post suspension,
they promptly send a letter home for the student's parents, as well as make a phone call to inform them
that their child has been suspended. The things to be considered in this are that the school didn't follow
proper procedure, the child threw away the letter home, the actual injury of Ray Knight and the effect it
will have on not only the victim's loved ones, but also his peers from school. I've made the conclusion
that the school can be held for liability charges because they didn't comply with the required protocol
and procedures of suspension.

PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT #3

A middle school student named Ray Knight was shot while suspended from school. Standard
procedure on the school's end is to both send a letter and call home to inform the parents of their child's
suspension. However, in Ray Knight's case, they only sent a letter home with the child, which Ray
threw away (CSN, Canvas). The school never called home, so the parents had no knowledge of Ray
being suspended. The first day of Ray's suspension, he was shot on the way to a friend's house. The
matter of discussion is whether or not the parent's of Ray Knight have the right and leverage to press
liability charges against the school officials.
Looking through the parent's point of view, the school officials didn't follow the mandatory
procedures. There are certain rules that schools must abide by and can face consequences for not doing
so (Ohio State Bar Association). Yes, the school did send out a letter, but that never got to their
attention. That's the point of having two ways to inform the family of suspensions, but the school only
used one. If they would have called the home, the parent's may have known about the suspension and
not been more careful on letting their child go over to a friend's house; the child could even get
grounded. In that situation, the child wouldn't have left home and wouldn't have been shot. That phone
call could have made the difference and I think that's clear.
The family of Ray Knight now not only have to emotionally deal with this tragedy, but they also
have to provide the financial support for it. Who's to say that they can afford this? What if they can't
and the child just continues to suffer, un-helped? Should the school be responsible for any medical bills
that are necessary for the healing and treatment of Ray Knight? The other students in the school will
likely hear of these events and fear may arise, perhaps even gossip and rumors. These kinds of things
can effect the school and the environment in which the students will be learning. All of these effects
could have been avoided from a simple thirty second phone call.
Through the eyes of the school officials, they did attempt to make contact with the family. They
had no idea of whether or not it was going to make it home in the first place. Who's to say the letter

PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT #3

won't get lost or if they paid their phone bill that month? It's possible in multiple circumstances where
the families wouldn't get the notification of suspension. So are they to fall for this? Are they
responsible for what happens to the student if no parent was informed of suspension? The school
couldn't have assumed that the student would throw the letter away, or even that the student would be
going away from home while he was suspended.
With all schools, there are set rules that are mandatory to abide by. One of these rules, in this
situation, was broken. This could have been a indirect influence on the crime that occurred. There are
consequences for these actions through the school board, unique to each school district. Should the
school officials suffer consequences through just the school board, or also through the parents?
All things considered, I conclude that the parents do have the right to press liability charges for
the sole reason that complete procedure was not completed. However, if say, they did both but the
parents never recognized it, it would be a completely different story. In this case however, the school
did not fulfill their side of the deal that they have with each student and their families to ensure the
proper handling and safety of their students.

PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT #3

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References

1.

Portfolio Assignment #3. (n.d.). CSN Canvas. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from
https://csn.instructure.com/courses/1148397/assignments/3821585?module_item_id=9702237

2.

Schools Must Follow Procedures to Suspend or Expel Students. (n.d.).Schools Must Follow Procedures to
Suspend or Expel Students. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from
https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/Resources/LawYouCanUse/Pages/LawYouCanUse-177.aspx

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