Lawsuit: CCSD student treated at hospital after physical attack, bullying
A mother said her son was the subject of “persistent and pervasive” bullying, and that his middle school failed to protect him, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Brittany Whiteside filed a lawsuit in District Court against the Clark County School District on behalf of her son, Ari Whiteside, who was a sixth grader at Johnston Middle School when the alleged bullying began in the 2024-25 school year.
The alleged bullying resulted in hospital treatment after a beating, Whiteside said in the complaint, and had substantial impacts on the boy’s studies as well as his health and well-being. The lawsuit made four claims of relief related to negligence.
“Ari’s case is not the only CCSD bullying case I have and am handling. It is sad how pervasive bullying is in our schools and how little CCSD administrators and teachers do about it,” attorney Samantha Martin said in an email. “CCSD knew it was happening and did nothing. They must be held accountable and the district needs to do something to stop bullying in our schools.”
The school district said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Bullying leads to treatment in hospital
On Sept. 23, 2024, Ari Whiteside was physically attacked and beaten by another student, according to the complaint. His injuries were so severe that he required treatment at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
School administrators then suspended Whiteside, the complaint said.
Between Sept. 23 and Sept. 26, his mother tried to contact Principal Melonie Poster, but received no response. On Sept. 26, Brittany Whiteside filed a bullying report on behalf of her son, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint said that CCSD implemented a safety plan for the sixth grader in which he was prescribed individual support and monitoring from school administrators and campus security. There was also a no-contact agreement on Sept. 26 between Ari Whiteside and the alleged aggressors.
The no-contact order was violated, according to the lawsuit, when the boy was placed in the same class as the offending student in October.
“Administrators’ failure to enforce the no-contact agreement frustrated the purpose of the safety plan and rendered it ineffective,” the complaint said.
Between September 2024 and the present, Ari Whiteside was “repeatedly harassed, threatened, and bullied by the same student-aggressors,” the lawsuit stated.
The family is in the process of moving Whiteside to a new school, the complaint said.
Bullying substantial issue in CCSD
Whiteside is but one of many parents who have filed lawsuits or made complaints about persistent bullying in the school strict.
The 2023-24 school year saw 10,000 instances of bullying and almost 2,000 cases of cyberbullying, according to CCSD Government Relations Director Nathaniel Waugh.
The school district sponsored a bill in the Legislature that grants it the authority to transfer the bully to another school. Prior to the law that went into effect on July 1, CCSD could only transfer a victim of bullying to another school.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X.
