Parent alleges Martin Middle School failed to report student assault; board members note limits on disciplinary disclosure

A Jefferson County parent, Cody Lovett, told the board he believes his child was the victim of a serious assault at Martin Middle School on Jan. 16 and alleged that school staff did not file required incident reports or notify child protective authorities.

"My child was assaulted at Martin Middle School on January 16...He was punched over 20 times and kicked and stomped," Lovett said (S3). He told the board that no adults intervened while the assault occurred, that the school did not provide an incident report to him, and that he believes mandatory reporting to child services did not occur. Lovett cited a procedural reference he described as "Tennessee Code Act 4 7 6 16 o 1" as the legal requirement for incident reporting.

Board members and district representatives questioned Lovett about the timeline and prior district responses. A board member (S9) confirmed Lovett had been told by the principal that he "has the right to press charges," and asked whether Lovett had pursued legal remedies; Lovett said he had gone to the sheriff and to court.

District representatives (S2 and others) said the district cannot disclose another student’s disciplinary records and that some disciplinary measures appear to have been taken with the other child, though those records are protected. One official said school-level staff do not themselves issue criminal assault charges and noted limits on the district’s ability to comment on juvenile justice processes.

Lovett said he took his son to the emergency room the day of the incident and that the nurse recommended medical evaluation because of concerns about concussions or brain injury. He also reported an SRO (school resource officer) told him his chief instructed the officer not to file a report; board members asked the district to check whether a resource-officer report exists and to follow up on procedure.

Board members requested that district staff treat Lovett’s materials as confidential when they follow up, and S2 said he would send additional information to board members via confidential email for further review.

What’s next: Board members said they will follow up with district staff to clarify reporting steps, to determine whether required incident reports or resource-officer reports exist, and to ensure appropriate next steps for the family and for procedures going forward.