Hearing set in Riverton hazing incident

Daniel Bendtsen, Riverton Ranger Via Wyoming News Exchange
Posted 6/22/18

After five months of legal delays, the expulsion hearings for three former Riverton High School wrestlers accused of hazing is set for June 29.

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Hearing set in Riverton hazing incident

Posted

RIVERTON – After five months of legal delays, the expulsion hearings for three former Riverton High School wrestlers accused of hazing is set for June 29. 

Fremont County School District 25 superintendent Terry Snyder recommended that three members of the wrestling team be expelled for their actions on a school bus in Natrona County. The boys have been suspended from school since January.

Typically, expulsion hearings are required to be held within 15 days of a student suspension. However, the hearings have been delayed amid legal battles between the district’s attorneys and the lawyers representing the accused. 

Coordinating schedules among the attorneys involved also has led to delays. 

School board chairman Carl Manning expressed frustration Tuesday with how long it is taking to come to a resolution in the cases.

“I am very tired of doing this,” he said. “We are in a loosey-goosey administrative process, and I’m about to pop.” 

The proposed expulsion has been delayed for months amid legal challenges by the boys’ attorneys. 

Meanwhile, a separate investigation into the boys’ conduct for an alleged hazing incident by the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office has continued. 

Snyder has said he’s “not aware of their findings” but he “expect(s) there will be charges.” 

The alleged hazing incident took place on a bus in early January. Snyder first recommended expulsion that same month. 

The school denied a motion on Feb. 27 for administrators to provide unredacted records in the case. 

“What that means is they’re asking us to release the names of the victims,” Snyder said at the time. 

A stay on the case was issued while district court judge Marvin Tyler considered whether to force the school district to release the victims’ names to the accused. The request was rejected.

Snyder said releasing the alleged victims’ names would be a violation of their privacy protections under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. 

Snyder said the “delay creates confusion” in the community but he remains “very steadfast with recommending a full year expulsion” for the students in question. 

“That’s unchanged and will remain unchanged,” he said. 

Currently, a full-year expulsion for the students would end with the 2018 calendar year. As a decision wasn’t made before the end of the 2017-18 academic year, Snyder said it’s unlikely a full-year expulsion would be able to be extended into 2019. 

“I’m not sure if there’s precedent for (this),” he said. “I don’t believe that’s possible – not that we won’t explore that.” 

As a result of the hazing incident, Snyder said the school district has “established specific revised bus trip supervised protocols for all sponsors and coaches.” 

Once expulsion proceedings are complete, Snyder said administrators will review whether the supervision in the wrestling incident was adequate under previous policies.