Parents and community members raise student-safety concerns as board approves expulsions and abeyance agreement

Several community members described alleged student-safety and discipline failures during the public-comment portion of a Rockford Public Schools (RPS) board of education meeting, and later in the same session the board approved an expulsion held in abeyance and other discipline items.

Parent Jessica Van Diver told the board she is a “single mom of 2” and described repeated incidents affecting her children, including alleged physical abuse and sexual assault. “My daughter was ******** assaulted,” Van Diver said. “I called the cops. The cops called my daughter a liar.” She said she filed a police report and that she had not received follow-up from district leaders.

Community organizer John Tech Brantley connected those comments to a longer history of demands for ethnic studies and more minority representation in RPS, saying the district has previously agreed to programs intended to support minority students. “Where is the statistics…implementing our ethnic study?” Brantley asked.

Another commenter, Ricky Naylor, urged clarity on public-comment rules and challenged the board to explain rising expulsions and what the district is doing to reduce them. “You got 6. Tonight, you got 6,” Naylor said, referring to expulsions. He pressed the board to focus on literacy and early interventions to prevent later disciplinary consequences.

Later in the meeting, during the student-discipline segment, the board considered item 9 (student discipline suspension, appeals and expulsions). The agenda referenced an expulsion to be “held in abeyance contingent upon an expulsion and abeyance agreement for the remainder of the 02/2526 school year through the first semester of the 02/2627 school year.” The board voted to approve the item; roll-call responses were recorded as unanimous.

The board also approved student-discipline items in section 10 (closed-session student discipline EIA’s) by unanimous roll call.

The meeting transcript and agenda note that public commenters do not receive an immediate board response during the petitions and communications portion; the board said appropriate speakers would be contacted by staff "in a timely manner" if follow-up was warranted.

Why this matters: Parents’ allegations of harm and public calls for data or reforms about expulsions touch on district responsibilities for student safety, reporting, and discipline. The board’s formal approval of expulsions in the same meeting underscores the overlap between community concerns and official action.

What the record shows and does not: The article reports what public commenters stated at the meeting and the board’s formal votes. It does not make findings about the truth of the allegations, nor does it attribute actions by district staff unless stated in the transcript. The transcript records the existence of a police report and Van Diver’s account; it does not record a district response or investigation outcome in the public session.

Next steps noted at the meeting: The board’s standard practice, as announced at the start of public comment, is not to respond immediately during public comment but to have staff follow up when appropriate. The transcript does not record any specific staff follow-up contact or timeline for the incidents Van Diver described.