A federal judge is removing four defendants from a civil rights lawsuit challenging Mason Public School District’s decision to reinstate a student who was expelled over sexual assault allegations. The decision keeps a Title IX claim intact, which criticizes the district’s ability to protect the student from harassment.
The complaint centers on the aftermath of an alleged May 2022 sexual assault of a student by another classmate. Despite a district-led investigation that resulted in expulsion, Mason Public Schools allowed the student to re-enroll in the fall of 2023.
Mason High School principal Lance Delbridge and assistant principal Nicholas Toodzio were named in the lawsuit, along with the school district itself.
The parents of the expelled student, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and Brad Delaney, who serves as a sergeant in the county’s sheriff’s department, were also listed as defendants.
WKAR is not naming the students because they are minors.
The lawsuit alleges the district’s decision to reinstate the student was due to his parents’ political influence.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker dismissed claims that the action violated civil rights protections.
“Even if defendants acted improperly and the impact of the conduct denied [plaintiff] equal protection under law, it does not automatically follow that defendant acted with gender-based discriminatory intent,” Jonker said in his order.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Brandon Wolfe, said he plans to file another lawsuit against the parents of the formerly expelled student.
“The court will not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims so they have to be filed in Ingham County,” Wolfe said. “It’s certainly not the last chapter of the story.”
Byrum praised the judge’s decision to dismiss them from the lawsuit.
“From the beginning, this lawsuit was frivolous, false and utterly irresponsible,” said Byrum in an email statement to WKAR. “The salacious allegations against my integrity in this suit were designed to embarrass my family and were a blatant attempt to shake me down because I am a public figure.”
Claims in the lawsuit
As part of its original filing, the lawsuit alleges Byrum and Delaney conspired with Mason School District officials to discriminate against the plaintiff by re-enrolling their child back into school.
But the judge said the plaintiff fails to prove that Byrum and Delaney’s motivation was to discriminate against her based on her gender. Instead, Jonker surmised that “the only reasonable reading” of the allegations was that the two were motivated to protect their child and personal reputations.
“Even if defendants acted improperly and the impact of their conduct denied [the plaintiff] equal protection under the law, it does not automatically follow that defendants acted with gender-based discriminatory intent,” the order reads.
Per Jonker’s ruling, the district's decision to reenroll the previously expelled student wasn't deemed "clearly unreasonable." However, it overlooks the plaintiff's claim that the district voluntarily readmitted the student, despite his status as a "school of choice" enrollee.
“The district could have easily vindicated both students’ rights by denying the student’s petition for reinstatement and advising him to seek re-enrollment in his 'home' school district. But it did not do so,” according to the order.
Michigan law allows public school districts to reenroll expelled students 180 school days following the date of expulsion, after a petition for reinstatement is filed.
The lawsuit alleges that the student’s return to the district caused the plaintiff “mental anguish” and subjected her to “sexual harassment that deprived her of access to educational opportunities” by failing to enforce a no-contact order between the two students.
The Mason Public School District allowed the student to reenroll under the condition that he abide by the no contact order.
“The plaintiff is alleging that the logistics to keep the two students apart were not properly implemented,” said Liz Abdnour, a Lansing-based attorney specializing in Title IX.
“Detailed plans to keep the students apart…like adding additional staff to monitor the hallways and making sure the students path to classes don’t intersect with one another.”
