Ashland school parents announce lawsuit against school district, state

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

Standing outside the Ashland School District offices Wednesday, Alex Sol announced the group Parents Demanding School Shooting Safety would be filing lawsuits against the district and the Oregon Department of Education. 

The proposed lawsuits are intended to push both the district and state agency into making changes to school infrastructure to protect students from school shootings. Sol argued that until schools are fortified, students are not safe in them. 

“There will be a horrible event which is unconscionable and unacceptable. Children being murdered in their classrooms can’t be tolerated and accepted and it must stop,” he said. 

Sol said the lawsuits are to achieve two purposes. First, he said ASD has resisted his efforts to create enhanced safety measures in Ashland schools and has failed to appropriately apply recommended safety measures from a 2018 ASD bond. The lawsuit will also allege the district has failed to comply with ORS 336.071, according to Sol.

The proposed lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Education alleges the department has failed to live up to the spirit of ORS 336.071 by not providing “hardened corners” or a place in a classroom outside the line of sight of an active shooter. Asked about hoped for outcomes from the lawsuits, Sol said the coalition wants to see ODE inspect every classroom in Oregon for hardened corners and provide them where they are not available. He also hopes the suit will lead to new state mandates for schools to be structurally designed to protect against active shooters in the same way the state dictates fire prevention. 

He said after the 1958 Our Lady of Angels fire in Chicago that took the lives of 90 school children, schools were rapidly fitted with structural changes aimed at fire prevention, such as sprinkler systems. School shootings should be answered in the same way since, he said, a clear pattern can be drawn of school shooters exploiting glass windows in classroom doors.

He referenced the tragedy of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where the shooter shot through the glass of a classroom door to gain access to the students hiding inside. School safety drills and procedures for school shootings are often to shelter in place inside classrooms. 

“Those children died doing what they were told to do to be safe. … We feel the government has a responsibility to repair this catastrophic safety hazard,” he said. 

Sol’s daughter is a student in the Ashland School District, he said, sparking the beginning of his crusade to harden schools against active shooters. To create hardened corners, he advocated for polycarbonate bullet resistant glass and bullet resistant doors. These safety features can be installed without a visitor to the school even noticing them, he said, stating the Sandy Hook Elementary School was rebuilt with security in its design in the wake of a school shooting in 2012. 

Sarah Sol, standing beside Alex Sol, urged parents to inspect their children’s classrooms and speak up to their school district if they feel their children are not safe. Alex Sol encouraged students to advocate to their parents for school safety as well. 

The lawsuits will be filed immediately, he said, though the group does not yet have an attorney. It is seeking one pro bono, but Sol said he would pay for an attorney if that was required. He stated multiple attorneys have expressed interest in the suits. 

When asked what he would do if he lost his suits or if they foundered at some point in the legal system, Sol was adamant. 

“If I have to go up to the Supreme Court, I will. I don’t stop now,” he said. 

Sol encouraged anyone seeking more information or to become involved in the lawsuits or his related school safety efforts to visit his website. The Ashland School District has not responded to a notice he sent of the lawsuits, he said. An ASD employee was visible lingering nearby the press conference but did not visibly engage with Sol or other members of the coalition.

The letter to the district announcing the intent to file legal action was signed by Alex and Sarah Sol, Natalie Parham and Marianna Zimmitt, on behalf of Parents Demanding School Shooting Safety (“former name was: Ashland moms for safe zones”). All four were present at Wednesday’s announcement. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.

Related articles:

Phoenix-Talent School Board discusses proposal for bullet-resistant buildings (Rogue Valley Times, March 13, 2024)

School safety nonprofit held demonstration on Ashland Plaza on Saturday (Oct. 15, 2023)

Ashland parents’ new nonprofit pushes for bulletproof schools (July 18, 2023)