by Shaun Knittel - SGN Staff Writer

State and federal officials are looking into whether students' civil rights were violated in the aftermath of an assault that left a 14-year-old freshman with a broken eye socket last November at Mount Si High School.

Officials say the assault raised question about whether school officials adequately addressed bullying and harassment.

The Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice will assess the school climate for LGBT and minority students. According to a Community Relations Service spokesperson, the office provides impartial mediation services to help local leaders resolve tension around race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, and disabilities.

According to reports, The Equity and Civil Rights Office with the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) also will review the Snoqualmie Valley School District's anti-discrimination policies for compliance with state and federal laws - including those that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The victim, a 14-year-old student, told officials he was standing up for a friend who "had been taunted for seeming Gay." The assault, which took place in a locker-room, left the boy with persistent memory and concentration problems. In addition to a concussion, he missed two months of school and returned to class only after state education officials assured that adequate safety and education plans were in place.

Although the school district has not confirmed that OSPI has opened a new inquiry, they say they would comply with any requests for information or cooperation.

According to Seattle Times, state and federal officials learned that students and parents are worried about how Mount Si administrators responded to the incident and about the treatment of Gay students (and those perceived as Gay) at the school.

The reason for the concern is easy to see; after the assault, school officials didn't call the parents of the victim or his friend to notify them of the assault, they did not call 911 for almost an hour after the assault (despite the victim's head injuries), and the principal, Randy Taylor, rejected the parents' request that he make an announcement about the assault to the school.

After administrators refused to address the issue of bullying and harassment on a school-wide basis, the mother of the boy who was taunted for being Gay withdrew her son from the high school and moved to another city, citing safety concerns.

According to Taylor, the school did not see the beating as an assault; it was a fight between the boy and a 16-year-old student who did not know the victim or his friend.

Still, the 16-year-old was charged with second-degree assault. He was expelled and finished the school year at an alternative high school in the district.

On June 3, The Snoqualmie Valley School District concluded that administrators should have responded more efficiently, but found that their failings were not deliberate.

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