seeking to sue a school district for intimidation....next steps

J

jgo123

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
Hello\
I am in the process of trying to sue the Santa Clara Unified School district for intimidation and negligence against my sons.
Im really looking for any next steps suggestions.
I have completed filing a complaint against the Coach with the District and now have escalated this to the CDE.
any suggestions is welcome.

I am an ARAG member and also looking for Limited scope rep.

regards
 
I suggest that if you want any meaningful commentary you provide some details of what you feel is the basis of a lawsuit.
 
thank you.

One of the basis is that my son is a varsity player for the school.
Last season , and I already filed a complaint about this is:
I had emailed the coach about his playing time, and he responded by pulling my son to the side during a break in practice, and informing my son that if I sent him any more emails about playing time, he would make my son run.

Another incident is last summer, when my son injured his wrist at summer league game, and he told me son that he is "Weak" for refusing to play and wanting to rest his injury.

I have several more details of what he did to other players, so I can send more..
Im sorry for being so passionate about this..:)
regards
 
i didnt say i was telling him how to do his job. I was asking about playing time since HE was the one who bumped up my son from JV to Varsity and then sits him down and does NOT play him for 3 games. and then tells him he will run if I ask about playing time. i was not asking Lebron James playing time but I was asking what his plan was ,. in a respectful manner. So your saying its ok for him to threaten my son with physical punishment if he asks about playing time? I get he has discretion, but he works for the school, and I PAY my taxes towards his salary. I dont deserve a simple explanation of " Mr.so-so, here is my plan, and this is what i want to do". I dont deserve that at all?
 
PayrollHRGuy said:
I would hope you have more because neither of those actions would result in a successful lawsuit.
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Maybe, maybe not. I won't know until i file it. The district will not be allowed to get away with that sort of behavior. Whether its successful or not, I should walk away and forget about it? nope.
 
jgo123 said:
i didnt say i was telling him how to do his job. I was asking about playing time since HE was the one who bumped up my son from JV to Varsity and then sits him down and does NOT play him for 3 games. and then tells him he will run if I ask about playing time. i was not asking Lebron James playing time but I was asking what his plan was ,. in a respectful manner. So your saying its ok for him to threaten my son with physical punishment if he asks about playing time? I get he has discretion, but he works for the school, and I PAY my taxes towards his salary. I dont deserve a simple explanation of " Mr.so-so, here is my plan, and this is what i want to do". I dont deserve that at all?
Click to expand...
No, Mr. So-so. You don't deserve nor are entitled to that at all.
 
Fair is in the eye of the beholder.

You asked for "next step" suggestions. My suggestion for your next step is that you withdraw the lawsuit since on the basis of what you have posted, you not only have no legal grounds to sue but if you persist in this, you may find yourself being thoroughly taken to pieces by the judge, should it get in front of a judge, for wasting his time. It is not up to you how much playing time your son has and calling him "weak", while possibly inappropriate, is not grounds for lawsuit.
 
Fair is where you go on rides and eat cotton candy.

Nobody wants a mama's boy on a sports team.

If he goes into the Army will you tell his drill sergeants to be kind to him?

If he gets a job are you going to ask his boss to be kind to him?
 
Your options in this end with your complaint to the school about the coach's conduct.
I agree you have provided nothing here that indicates any reason to proceed with a lawsuit.
You might even have a talk with your son and find out if he feels he is being treated unfairly. Odds are there are other students/players treated just like him and he knows it. Your efforts to help him are probably harmful and embarrassing, especially if other players know about it.
Let him be a kid, and let the coach be the coach. You play the role of the supportive parent, regardless of his playing time.
 
jgo123 said:
i didnt say i was telling him how to do his job. I was asking about playing time since HE was the one who bumped up my son from JV to Varsity and then sits him down and does NOT play him for 3 games. and then tells him he will run if I ask about playing time. i was not asking Lebron James playing time but I was asking what his plan was ,. in a respectful manner. So your saying its ok for him to threaten my son with physical punishment if he asks about playing time? I get he has discretion, but he works for the school, and I PAY my taxes towards his salary. I dont deserve a simple explanation of " Mr.so-so, here is my plan, and this is what i want to do". I dont deserve that at all?
Click to expand...

If your kid is going to be involved in sports you need to learn that the coaches run things. Over and above the sport itself, good coaches are trying to produce good adults. Having mommy and daddy calling to complain doesn't help your son. Physical training, running in this case, goes with the sport and is part of the self-discipline program.

While you pay taxes you are not in any way the coaches boss and he owes you no explanation of anything.

Unless the school has some rule for playing time your son isn't owed one second on the field.

I suggest you allow your son to deal with his sports issues on his own and stay in the stands and cheer.
 
Since you are so surprised that the coach hasn't played him for 3 games since moving him up for JV, it only makes sense that you would demand that the coach move him back to JV so he can play more.
 
jgo123 said:
i didnt say i was telling him how to do his job. I was asking about playing time since HE was the one who bumped up my son from JV to Varsity and then sits him down and does NOT play him for 3 games. and then tells him he will run if I ask about playing time. i was not asking Lebron James playing time but I was asking what his plan was ,. in a respectful manner. So your saying its ok for him to threaten my son with physical punishment if he asks about playing time? I get he has discretion, but he works for the school, and I PAY my taxes towards his salary. I dont deserve a simple explanation of " Mr.so-so, here is my plan, and this is what i want to do". I dont deserve that at all?
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No... He doesn't have to explain anything to you. Unless of course he chooses to. You can always pull your son off the team. You should let your son play the game. Let the coach, coach HIS team. You should sit and watch the game. I will tell you this much. My son was very big in sports. at 8-10 yrs old we played 90+ games of baseball a year. One year my son didn't make the cut for the basketball team. He asked the coach...... Can i still be on the team? He would work out with the team. He would do everything the team did. Except he knew he wasn't going to play. Well...... Half way thru the season he started playing limited time. Then started...... Because the coach seen how hard he tried. I've been in sports my whole life. You need to enjoy the game.
 
jgo123 said:
Hello\
I am in the process of trying to sue the Santa Clara Unified School district for intimidation and negligence against my sons.
Im really looking for any next steps suggestions.
I have completed filing a complaint against the Coach with the District and now have escalated this to the CDE.
any suggestions is welcome.

I am an ARAG member and also looking for Limited scope rep.

regards
Click to expand...

If you wish to treat this seriously, hire a lawyer.

Free information from strangers is useless.
 
jgo123 said:
I am in the process of trying to sue [a] School district for intimidation and negligence against my sons.
Click to expand...

What does "in the process of trying to sue" mean?

jgo123 said:
Im really looking for any next steps suggestions.
Click to expand...

That depends on what you've done to this point, but the rather obvious answer is to consult with a local attorney.

jgo123 said:
I have completed filing a complaint against the Coach with the District and now have escalated this to the CDE. . . .

I am an ARAG member
Click to expand...

Are we supposed to know what these acronyms mean?

jgo123 said:
Last season , and I already filed a complaint about this is:
I had emailed the coach about his playing time, and he responded by pulling my son to the side during a break in practice, and informing my son that if I sent him any more emails about playing time, he would make my son run.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. You didn't say what sport your son plays, but the coach has probably at least a dozen kids on the roster. Parents don't get a say when it comes to playing time, and emails about that sort of thing are beyond obnoxious, and a message to that effect should be delivered clearly.

jgo123 said:
Another incident is last summer, when my son injured his wrist at summer league game, and he told me son that he is "Weak" for refusing to play and wanting to rest his injury.
Click to expand...

That's not even remotely grounds for a lawsuit.

jgo123 said:
I have several more details of what he did to other players, so I can send more.
Click to expand...

Things that happened to other kids are not relevant to your kid. You have no standing to address what happened to other kids.

jgo123 said:
I dont deserve a simple explanation of " Mr.so-so, here is my plan, and this is what i want to do". I dont deserve that at all?
Click to expand...

No. You don't. If your son has concerns about his playing time, he can and should speak with the coach.
 
Parents being passionate about their child's athletic and sports endeavors is a well publicized topic, especially on video sites. In addition to little league, see also Lavar Ball (who is probably the most well known parental protector of his children, Lonzo Ball and his two younger brothers.)

What you're describing sounds more like the subject matter for a possible complaint to an educational authority rather than a legal action. If you intend to file any complaint, be very aware of the fact that proof is very important as a failure to convince may lead to repercussions to your son. You bear the burden of providing proof beyond opinion which, in cases like these, are usually difficult to sustain. Is there a long standing history of discrimination or less than a handful of incidents?

School sports is a topic that was always difficult for me to understand. I was very fortunate in usually being one of the primary players in sports teams and leagues I joined. But I often felt terrible about those who didn't get much of a chance to play for school/academic events where the point of the exercise was about everyone having an opportunity to enjoy playing and improving their game. But this is a sensitive subject, also with different opinions, with many focusing solely upon winning or losing and thus their bias may be more about success in the win/loss column than upon the educational benefit.

This is a fact specific case. You're best off getting a great deal of advice and perspective before proceeding.
 

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