After a tense few days, Izzy Dieker can once again ride a USD 251 North Lyon County school bus to and from North Lyon County Junior High.
The eighth-grader recently gained permission to use the bus after she was told she couldn't ride following an incident Jan. 26 and subsequent conversations between the family and the district. Dieker's parents, Daniel Dieker and Tasha Cooper, spoke with KVOE News on Saturday after saying they had seen a video of the incident in question. They say the incident started in the back of the bus and culminated with Izzy Dieker saying she was a lesbian as part of a loud and occasionally vulgar conversation. Daniel Dieker says the conversation drew the attention of the currently-unnamed bus driver a couple times before the bus pulled over.
Later that evening, Daniel Dieker says North Lyon County Principal Corey Wiltz called to say Izzy Dieker couldn't ride the bus because of foul language and disobeying the driver. After initial review, Daniel Dieker says the concerns of foul language and disobedience disappeared, but the use of the word lesbian was still considered inappropriate and Izzy Dieker couldn't ride the bus for a week. Cooper then says she emailed Wiltz asking for a clarification which resulted in a similar response. Daniel Dieker says his follow-up emails expecting a return to normal were ignored.
Izzy Dieker was then allowed to ride the bus after yet another email exchange. At that point, the family reached out to Superintendent Bob Blair. Daniel Dieker says the conversations were slow to start, but Blair invited the family to file a formal complaint -- which they did in person so they could see the bus video in question. Cooper says she was initially upset by the pace of the process.
KVOE News has reached out to Wiltz, who will be Emporia High's athletics director and assistant principal in July, and to Blair for comment. Wiltz has not responded. Blair has confirmed an investigation is underway, but the district cannot comment because of the investigation, personnel matters and student privacy concerns. There is no confirmation of the scope of the investigation or how long it may take to be completed.
Daniel Dieker says the family isn't ruling out some sort of legal action later, but they would like to avoid that step if some sort of "corrective action" results from the investigation. Cooper, meanwhile, says she would like other changes.
The district's discrimination policy currently does not list sexual or gender orientation as protected, while race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status and socioeconomic status are protected.
In the meantime, the district has Izzy and her brother, Axel, using a different bus starting this week.
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February 14, 2021 at 12:47PM
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Izzy Dieker back on USD 251 bus; investigation continues into incident including use of word 'lesbian' shortly before disciplinary action - KVOE
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