A report says a North Lyon County eighth-grade student was sexually harassed for saying she was a lesbian during a bus ride home earlier this year.
The report from Kansas Association of School Boards Assistant Executive Director for Legal Services Angela Stallbaumer says bus driver Kristi Gadino singled out Izzy Dieker for her comment at a time when other students were using more coarse language or violating certain bus travel policies without reprisal. It also says school principal Corey Wiltz was at fault in his decision to "double down" on disciplinary action while failing to review the bus footage in a timely manner and respond to the family with initial findings but keeping Dieker from riding the afternoon bus.
KVOE News has reached out to Wiltz and USD 251 North Lyon County Superintendent Bob Blair. Dieker's father, Daniel Dieker, says he's not surprised by the findings.
Stallbaumer's 11-page report details the nature of the complaint, which aligns with what the Diekers told KVOE News in February. On Jan. 27, Izzy Dieker was part of a loud and occasionally vulgar conversation on a bus ride home. Gadino reported Izzy Dieker saying she was a lesbian and chiding the student for language. She also stopped the bus and eventually brought Izzy Dieker to the front, after which Wiltz told the family the student was suspended from school bus rides for foul language and disobeying the driver. The report demonstrates several instances of foul language and at least one where a student stood up while the bus was in motion, but those incidents were not addressed during the ride home.
The report also discusses the investigation process, which included witness interviews on three different occasions and a review of evidence and district policies for sexual harassment and bus discipline. That led to the report's conclusions of sexual harassment, based on "differential treatment" due to the nature of the ride and Izzy Dieker's specific comments as well as Wiltz's delayed response to the family and his stated belief "lesbian" is a vulgar and inappropriate word.
The report also recommends staff training and additional disciplinary action, but it is leaving those steps to the district board. Daniel Dieker says he would have rather seen concrete steps the district is taking the family's concerns seriously.
At the end of the academic year in June, Wiltz is leaving North Lyon County to become an assistant principal and the athletics director at Emporia High School. Daniel Dieker says Izzy Dieker and her brother are going to USD 420 Osage City starting in August.
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May 21, 2021 at 05:45PM
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REPORT: North Lyon County eighth-grade student sexually harassed during January bus ride home - KVOE
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