Brockton School Board orders remote instruction for suspended student, schedules January hearing

Brockton — The Brockton School Board voted unanimously Oct. 28 to provide remote instruction at home to student Ta'nesiya Olson for the remainder of the semester and scheduled a student hearing in January 2026 to consider readmission or other outcomes. The decision followed an executive-session discussion of the student incident after Olson waived her right to privacy.

Chairman Sammy Nygard opened the special meeting at 5:34 p.m. at the Brockton School District Office and called an executive session citing Section 3-3-203(3), MCA. Superintendent Laverty Erickson recommended extending the suspension and planning an expulsion hearing; board members and the student’s guardians, Zandalie Martell and Alva Bighorn, discussed alternatives including continued instruction at home.

Trustee Wilfred Lambert moved to provide remote instruction at home for Olson for the remainder of the semester. Trustee Rae Jean Belgarde seconded the motion. The motion carried on a 3-0 vote; trustees Sammy Nygard, Rae Jean Belgarde and Wilfred Lambert voted in favor. Trustees Terry Rattling Thunder and Olivia Johnson were noted as absent from the meeting.

Under the board’s action, staff will arrange remote instruction for the student for the remainder of the academic term. The board also set a student hearing in January 2026 to review readmission or other measures; the record notes the board discussed (but did not adopt at this meeting) an expulsion hearing as part of its possible next steps.

The special meeting concluded at 5:55 p.m. after a motion by Trustee Lambert, seconded by Chairman Nygard, to adjourn. No public comment was recorded during the open comment period.