Connection: Cheney District Faces Suit

The Cheney School District is facing a lawsuit for allegedly failing to stop ongoing harassment of two former students.

Two teenage brothers and their parents are suing the district, alleging that the younger brother had been harassed repeatedly by other boys at both Cheney Middle School and Cheney High School.

While the lawsuit originally was filed last December, it was withdrawn in February due to a procedural error. The family first had to file a formal complaint with the school district before filing suit, said Spokane attorney Sheryl Phillabaum, who represents the family.

Phillabaum said she plans to re-file the original lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court in the coming week.

The suit alleges students sexually harassed the younger boy by calling him derogatory names for homosexuals. The older brother was harassed about his “gay” brother, the original lawsuit said.

Both boys transferred to other schools outside of Cheney, and the older brother has since graduated.

Cheney Superintendent Phil Snowdon declined to comment on the case, but said the district has been proactive about enforcing its anti-harassment policy.

In the coming weeks, school officials will visit the district’s high school freshmen and sixthgraders to teach them about the policy, just as they did last fall, he said.