Elkhart Community Schools responds to Rio Allred lawsuit

ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) - Elkhart Community Schools (ECS) responds to a lawsuit filed against them for the death of 12-year-old Rio Allred.

ECS denied many allegations in the lawsuit, and said some of the alleged harassment was not reported to district administrators.

ECS did, however, admit that Rio’s mother, Nicole Ball, reported incidents of a student smacking Rio and pushing her out of her chair.

Additionally, they admitted that Rio sent an email to the school counselor after a student called her names and tripped her on the stairs; even admitting that an employee witnessed this name-calling firsthand.

And, as you dive into the report, you will read that ECS admitted that Rio’s parents expressed concerns about ongoing bullying, even meeting with school administrators right before Rio’s death.

The school district is being sued for Wrongful Death, Violating Title IX and Violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

Superintendent Thalheimer said that the District’s liability insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual, had their Risk Control Services do a “high-level overview” and shared that they “found many of the components of [our] bullying prevention program do align with the best practices identified by multiple national resources.”

ECS says it does not believe it breached its duty of exercising reasonable care and supervision of students in its schools, including Rio...

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