Shea Middle School

Statement from the Parent of one of the victims

The level of negligent security as well as the systemic incompetence displayed by James P. Lee, Ed.D. Superintendent Paradise Valley Unified School and his representatives are unconscionable. Thankfully the Arizona criminal justice system has taken seriously these criminal felony offenses that this child has now been charged with.

Who was protecting my child that day at Shea Middle School when a student exposed himself
twice in the same school day in front of 70+ students and 3 teachers in the middle of 2 separate classes?
The Teachers? The Principal? The School District? ------NOBODY WAS PROTECTING MY CHILD THAT DAY!

We are extremely concerned and alarmed at how the Paradise Valley School district handled a very graphic indecent exposure occurrence at Shea Middle School this 2015 school year. While we do not believe that the school is responsible for the behaviors of this child, we do hold the school and the school district accountable to their own policies and procedures, which state,

“The Paradise Valley Unified School District places high priority on providing each student with the opportunity to learn within a safe and stimulating environment. For this reason, the Governing Board accepts the responsibility for identifying those behaviors, which, if allowed to exist without restrictions and appropriate disciplinary action, would interfere with individual and group learning and would interfere with the orderly conduct of our public schools. Furthermore, the Governing Board charges the staff with the responsibility for enforcing the rules of conduct, establishing consistency in their enforcement and maintaining an appropriate learning and behavioral environment.” (Paradise Valley Unified School District, Parent/Student Handbook, 2014-2015).

The school and Governing Board have denied the severity of this disorderly conduct/sexual harassment incident, despite the fact that the child who quite graphically exposed himself in two classrooms during one school day has been charged with two class-six felony charges of indecent exposure by the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s office. The child who was charged has a history of escalating behavioral issues at Shea Middle School, including assaulting another student just days before the indecent exposure incident occurred. The Paradise Valley School district handbook disciplinary chart states that,

“Multiple offenses in a combination of (misconduct) categories may result in long-term suspension or expulsion…..the following offenses are subject to expulsion on the first offense: Assault, Disorderly Conduct, and Sexual Harassment.” (Paradise Valley Unified School District, Parent/Student Handbook, 2014-2015).

This child was given one week suspension from the school, as the school deemed that it was “a simple mooning.” A “simple mooning” would not have required 8 detectives from the Phoenix Police Department to interview approximately 70 students and teachers to get the actual facts, which have resulted in these criminal felony charges.

It is alarming that an incident of this magnitude can occur in our children’s classrooms, and the School and School District representatives have continued to downplay the event. This incident has affected our child and his right to attend a school that allegedly promotes a safe learning environment. The school has never approached our child as a victim to see how this has affected his emotional status, or how this criminal conduct has affected his learning ability. He wasn’t offered counseling, and he continued to have to attend classes and break times with the aggressive student. We are appalled that despite addressing this serious issue with the school board, they have not followed the policies that they have set forth to protect our children. We want other parents to know that this issue is being swept under the rug and that the Paradise Valley School District does not follow the policies that they have set in place in order to maintain conduct within the school. We are demanding that this aggressive student be relocated to another school that is better equipped to monitor his behavior.