Loudon County dad wants school officials to change rules on fights

By JOSH AULT
6 News Reporter

LOUDON (WATE) - After his daughter was assaulted at school by another student, a Loudon County father wants to change how school officials deal with fights.

A cell phone filmed 14 seconds of the fight when a 17-year-old girl attacked Craig Stutts' 16-year-old girl at Loudon High School on May 18.

"The girl grabbed her from behind and pulled her to the floor and just repeatedly beat her," Stutts said.

Stutts received the video anonymously from another student a month after the fight.

He says the incident changed his daughter's life. "She was diagnosed with post traumatic stress, and we had to remove her from school and put her in home school."

He says since the assault, she hasn't been able to leave their home unless she's with someone else.

When all the facts came out about the assault, Stutts had some concerns. "We determined this girl had repetitive problems like this. She was still in the system, and we questioned why."

Loudon County Assistant Director of Schools Jason Vance wouldn't go on camera for this report, but confirmed the girl charged in Stutts' assault had been in a fight a few days earlier.

Vance says school officials handled the incident appropriately.

Stutts voiced his concerns about the fight at the Loudon County School Board meeting in September. He also gave school board members a list of questions he wants answered.

"Some of the questions were, at what point does a student get anger management? Another question, is there a disciplinary committee inside the school board?" Stutts said.

Stutts' questions weren't answered at the school board meeting, but will be addressed at a school board workshop in October.

Stutts says he doesn't understand why this student wasn't removed after the first fight, and feels every school should follow the same rules.

Vance says it's up to the principals of each school to decide how to discipline students.

School officials say they don't plan to change any of the current disciplinary actions for fighting.

The girl who attacked Stutts' daughter goes to court on September 21.