Melissa Van Bemmel attended Exira Community School District from kindergarten to 11th grade. She had gotten along well with other student prior to the 1996-97 school year. Melissa began dating a boy from Audubon in January 1997. Since that time, she became subject to harassment by a group of about 20 students both in and out of school. This harassment was not due to any actions by Melissa or her boyfriend. Appellants repeatedly talked with the police, as well as both the superintendent and the principal in an attempt to resolve the situation and protect their daughter. In response to inquiry at the hearing, the superintendent testified that he had no reason to doubt Appellants' testimony.

The superintendent also testified that he was familiar with the situation and that the Board was very concerned about the problems Melissa was having. He testified that the District had been somewhat ineffective in its ability to address the problem. Evidence at the hearing showed Melissa was scared someone would beat her up and she was upset all the time. Melissa had suffered a number of illnesses as a result of the harassment: stomach aches, headaches, backaches, anorexia, depression, and insomnia. Her grade dropped dramatically and she did not want to return to school next year. Melissa had seen a physician, psychiatrist and counselors.

This case is very unusual. Melissa experienced harassment and threats in school beginnin in the fall of 1996. At least one of the incidents was life threatening. This is not the same as a situation where a student is being harassed by one or two other students one or even several times. The harassment occurred on a daily basis for the entire semester. There was no reason to believe the students involved in the harassment would stop. The District was unable to effectively address the situation at school; and the police were unable to effectively address the situation outside of school. In order to provide guidance to districts regarding when the State Board will follow Iowa Code section 282.18(18)(1997) in open enrollment cases involving harassment, the following principles were offered. The harassment must have happened after January 1, or the extent of the problem must not have been known until after January 1st, so the parents could not have filed their applications in a timely manner.

The evidence must show that the harassment is likely to continue. The harassment must be wipespread in terms of number of students and the length of time that the harassment has occurred. The harassment must be relatively severe with serious consequences, such as necessary counseling, for the student who has been subjected to the harassment. Evidence that the harassment has been physically or emotionally harmful is important. Although, the State Board of Education does not condone any harassment of students, in order to use section 282.18(20) authority, the harassment must be beyond typical adolescent cruelty. The parents must have tried to work with school officials to solve the problem without success. The evidence of harassment must be specific. Finally, there must be reason to think that changing the student's school district will alleviate the situation.

That the decision of the Board of Directors of the Exira Community School District made on May 7, 1997, denying the Van Bemmels' late-filed open enrollment request for Melissa for the 1997-98 school year was reversed.