Study finds student wasn't bullied

On Monday, Feb. 4, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District released an independent investigation's findings into an incident involving a serious bullying allegation from Nov. 2, 2018. Folsom Middle School seventh grader Titus White was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital from injuries suffered when he was pushed into a metal pole by another student while on a class field trip to California State University, Sacramento. White's mother, Kindra Miller, told the Telegraph in December of 2018 that the district didn't take serious measures of discipline, as she believed the incident was racially motivated. After Miller contacted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to get involved in December, the district immediately selected an outside investigative firm, Van Dermyden Maddux, on Dec. 5. The firm was selected based on its experience conducting complicated investigations related to discrimination and campus safety. According to the district's statement, between Dec. 5, 2018 and Jan. 9, the investigator conducted 24 in-person interviews. Those interviewed included the injured student; the student who injured the other student; each student's parent/guardian; a teacher; school and district administrators; and 14 students who attended the Nov. 2 field trip. The only students who were not interviewed were those whose parents did not return consent forms. Prior disciplinary and other school records also were reviewed. The investigation, which cost the district $33,772, found that the student who pushed White into the pole did violate the district's student conduct policy, which prohibits physical violence, but they did not violate the district's student conduct policies prohibiting bullying and the incident was not racially motivated, according to FCUSD. Based on the findings from the independent investigator, the district released the following response: "District policies will be revised so that any time a student causes serious physical injury to another person, the matter will be reviewed by the Superintendent or an Assistant Superintendent to determine whether an expulsion hearing is warranted (Current policies give school administrators discretion in whether to recommend an expulsion hearing.)," the statement said. "The school should have referred this matter to the district immediately upon learning that a student had suffered serious physical injury. However, the district's written policies need to be revised to reflect that expectation for all school administrators. We will re-examine and update our field trip supervision and safety protocols and review with our school administrators." The district is not releasing the full report to protect the privacy of the young children involved in the investigation.