School May Readmit Student Hit-List Writer

TACOMA, Wash. (CN) - A Washington appeals court upheld a school district's decision to let a student return to school after he helped write a "2 kill list" containing the names of classmates and school staff.

A bus driver found the hit list in a backpack left on the school bus and turned it over to the principal. The backpack belonged to K.S., who said she had created the list while on the phone with a friend, S.M., as a joke, "because they were bored." The list contained 128 names, including famous figures such as "Shania twain," "big bird," "goerge bush," "bill clinton," "al gore," "Martha Stewart," "opra" and "garth brooks." The first name on the list was "billy."

The Warden Joint Consolidated School District suspended S.M. and required him to complete a "full-scale mental health assessment" before he could return to school. He was readmitted after a psychiatrist determined that he was not a threat to his classmates.

But parents Steven and Juanita Jachetta claimed the school had not done enough to punish the authors and refused to let their son, Billy, attend school while S.M. was still there.

The appeals court rejected their appeal, saying the district had no duty "to keep S.M. out of school for the remainder of the year just to accommodate the Jachettas." See ruling.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit