(WXYZ) — A new federal lawsuit was filed Friday by 20 Oxford Community Schools students seeking a judge to order change before the start of the new school year in 10 weeks.
The lawsuit is unique as it is not seeking any money damages.
Examples of the changes the students want include the immediate:
- Retraction of all statements made in the course of the district's "cover story" after the shooting.
- Implementation of a fully transparent and independent third-party investigation of the actions and events leading up to the school shooting.
- End to its practice of concealing and minimizing threats of violence and instead its engagement of full transparency regarding future threats of violence and safety concerns.
- End to the practice of returning students to class when there is no 'disciplinary issue' even when the student poses a risk of harm to himself/herself or others.
- Securing of proper training for administrators and staff regarding the restriction of students from returning to class if they are suicidal and/or pose a risk to self or others.
- Securing of proper training for administrators and staff regarding legal searches of student belongings when that student poses a safety risk.
- Securing of proper training for administrators and staff regarding risk and threat assessments, especially when students are suicidal.
Complaint (FILED) by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
In a Zoom news conference, parents of the students say school officials continue to cover up what happened on Nov. 30, 2021 when four students were killed and six others were injured along with one teacher.
The alleged shooter had displayed several warning signs and was sent to the office the day of the shooting, but when his parents said they were too busy to take him out of school, he was returned back to class and did the shooting a few hours later.
“Trust has been broken too many times in the 199 days since our world was shattered by their negligence and a kid who had a gun in a backpack that they hope or they found he was in a mental a mental health crisis. And then they handed it back to him,” said Lori Bourgeau, an Oxford parent.
Oxford school board members delayed for months doing an investigation and turned down the state attorney general three times to do an independent investigation.
The board finally hired a company, but there is no start date and the information will go through a law firm hired by the district.
The parents who spoke say their kids still live in fear at Oxford and this is needed now.
“We don't want to be here. Putting our children's names in a federal lawsuit is a desperate attempt. It's a desperate attempt to be heard. With the lack of investigation, there is a lack of transparency with the lack of transparency there's a lack of accountability,” said Alicia Feltz, an Oxford parent.
