Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Parents trying to keep deceased daughter’s farewell notes sealed

Updated Friday, July 31, 2015 | 3:47 p.m.

The unpublished farewells of a seventh-grader who killed herself are the focus of a federal court battle between her parents who helped change Nevada school bullying law and Las Vegas school officials who say the writings shed new light on allegations that campus officials failed to tell the parents the girl was being victimized.

"They want to designate them as confidential. We objected," Daniel Polsenberg, an attorney representing the Clark County School District, said Friday.

"They want to take one part of one document and say Hailee committed suicide because of bullying. The other documents paint a much fuller picture," Polsenberg said. "People have a right to know what really happened."

Hailee Joy Lamberth's parents, Jason and Jennifer Lamberth, of Henderson, allege in a wrongful death lawsuit filed last year that they weren't notified that their 13-year-old daughter was bullied at school before she fatally shot herself in December 2013.

Their lawyer, Allen Lichtenstein, said Friday that unsealing her notebook letters would only sully Hailee's memory and harm the young people to whom the goodbyes were written, including her younger brother.

"The idea of keeping them confidential is to protect the kids," Lichtenstein told The Associated Press. "These are materials in the hands of private parties, and there is no purpose in giving out this information."

The civil lawsuit, which was moved from state court to U.S. District Court in December, alleges that by not telling her parents that Hailee was bullied, school officials deprived the family of a chance to intervene or get the girl guidance and counseling. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr. heard arguments Thursday in Las Vegas on the question of keeping the notes sealed. He is expected to rule soon.

Lichtenstein said district officials can't defend themselves from Jason Lamberth's disclosure that his daughter's suicide note referred to bullying.

"They don't like the publicity they're getting," Lichtenstein said. "I think they want to go to the press and essentially put Hailee and Hailee's family on trial."

Polsenberg responded that while the teen's death was tragic, sympathy doesn't change facts.

"This isn't public relations," the attorney for the school district said. "This is an effort to get at the truth. The public has a right to know not only the claim but the issues underlying the claim."

Lamberth testified earlier this year before state lawmakers, and Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a law creating a state Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment to train educators to recognize and intervene in bullying situations.

It also calls for establishing a 24-hour hotline and website for school bullying complaints.

The office is still being established, said Judy Osgood, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.

Phone calls are being handled by the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 800-273-8255 or 775-784-8090. The website is bullyfreezone.nv.gov.

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