SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News is investigating dozens of cases across Utah of teachers bullying students.
We have spent months trying to gather data so parents can make informed decisions about child safety.
For the purposes of this story, FOX 13 News filed requests for copies of all records in which a school district employee was disciplined due to sustained complaints matching the description of "bullying" in School Year 2022-2023 or School Year 2023-2024 from Utah’s 11 largest public school districts.
The responses from each district varied.
Some of the districts included in this story were transparent and provided data without hesitation.
However, some districts refused to provide access to responsive records. Some districts intentionally obscured data, citing privacy concerns. Some districts provided some records but otherwise withheld disciplinary cases that clearly match the state definition of bullying. Some districts reported having trouble accessing their own disciplinary records. Some districts asked us to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for access to disciplinary records.
In some instances, FOX 13 News was able to find withheld cases of bullying at the state level.
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is able to levy discipline to teachers that might be more severe, or more lenient, than discipline at the district level. It receives disciplinary recommendations from the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC).
UPPAC is a committee of nine educators and two community members charged with “maintaining and promoting a high standard of professional conduct and ethics among Utah teachers.” The committee conducts investigations “separate and independent” from the employee’s school district.
Why are these records public?
All disciplinary records for government employees in Utah are public records.
It doesn’t matter whether the disciplined employee is a police officer, a public school teacher, a county receptionist, a snowplow driver, or an elected mayor. There is rarely anything “private” about sustained complaints against public employees being paid with public funds, so long as the disciplinary action has been completed and all time periods for administrative appeal have expired.
FOX 13 News feels parents have a right to know if their kids’ teachers have been disciplined, especially if they bullied students.
The Utah State Legislature felt the same way in the crafting of the Government Records and Management Act (GRAMA). These laws give citizens the ability to seek transparency and compel answers from the government.
In fact, all government records in Utah are public “unless otherwise expressly provided by statute.”
Joel Campbell had a role in crafting GRAMA. He is a former journalist and current professor at Brigham Young University.
“Schools love to show that they’re really positive learning places, and they, for the most part, are!” Campbell said, “but once in a while you have negative things happen, and the public ought to know what’s going on in their schools."
Campbell said he was shocked and disappointed to see some school districts refusing to tell us which teachers had been disciplined for bullying students, regardless of whether they were punished by the district or USBE.
“If there was discipline, certainly we ought to say that – whether it’s a parent or a journalist asking that question,” Campbell said. “As a parent, I no longer have children in the system, but, as a parent, I would want to know... Does the teacher have it together? Under control? Are they nurturing? Are they the kind of teacher I want my student to have?”
The definition of bullying
The state definition of bullying is broader than some might expect.
Some districts stated it was difficult to fulfill our requests for public records because of how broad the definition of “bullying” is in Utah.
According to 53G-9-601(3), the following types of cases match the state definition of bullying:
- Cases where an employee's behavior caused "physical or emotional harm to (victims).”
- Cases where an employee's behavior caused "damage to (victim's) property."
- Cases where an employee’s behavior placed a victim “in reasonable fear of harm to the (victim’s) physical or emotional well-being.”
- Cases where an employee’s behavior placed a victim “in reasonable fear of damage to the (victim’s) property.”
- Cases where an employee’s behavior created “a hostile, threatening, humiliating, or abusive educational environment.”
- Cases where an employee's behavior "substantially (interfered) with a student having a safe school environment that is necessary to facilitate education performance, opportunities, or benefits."
State law requires each school district to have a “bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy” with definitions “consistent with” the above bullet points.
Some districts explained it is possible for a case to meet the state definition of bullying, even if the employee may not have been disciplined “for” bullying.
In compiling this story, FOX 13 News wanted to make sure we weren’t comparing apples and oranges. For that reason, we specifically asked for cases and complaints matching the state definition, regardless of whether the district agrees with the state definition or if the district disciplined teachers "for" bullying.
Alpine School District
In an email, Alpine School District told FOX 13 News it has received five complaints identified “as being in someway possibly related to bullying,” but none of the five complaints were “sustained or substantiated for bullying.”
FOX 13 News later uncovered additional information about one teacher whose disciplinary file was initially withheld by the district.
- Brandon Beckstead
Brandon Beckstead, a teacher at Lake Mountain Middle School, received a “written directive” and two days of paid leave in Fall 2023.
"You called an Asian student Kim Jong Un and projected an image of Kim Jong Un when class members asked who that was,” wrote Principal Mark Whitaker. “Several students also reported you made a comment about them looking similar. This was unacceptable and showed poor professional judgement.”
Beckstead was instructed to “never talk like this again” and to make a “deliberate effort to foster a positive classroom climate,” something the principal acknowledged Beckstead is normally “really good at.”
“(The student) reported that he encouraged you to continue using the name to show he was unphased by something that actually hurt him,” Whitaker wrote. “It hurt him and his parents because the comparison you made was based on his race and the person you compared him to is a violent, horrible dictator."
Alpine School District said the case was not “reported, investigated, or disciplined as bullying.”
“That complaint was received and investigated by both (Alpine School District) and the Federal Office of Civil Rights under Title VI for discrimination and harassment based on race, color or national origin,” wrote Kraig Brinkerhoff, the executive director of legal services for Alpine School District.
USBE disciplined Beckstead by issuing a letter of warning.
Davis School District
Superintendent Dan Linford stated Davis School District "has had five (5) claims of 'bullying' in the last two school years," but "none of them met the statutory definition for 'bullying.'"
The district stated it would be too “burdensome” to allow the public to obtain access to records related to “retaliation” or “cyber-bullying.”
The district did not explain how or why its ability to process records related to bullying are less "burdensome" than records related to cyber-bullying or retaliation.
FOX 13 News is appealing the decision under Utah's public records law.
Granite School District
When FOX 13 News asked for case records matching the state definition of bullying, Granite School District provided a list of 19 teachers’ cases that “meet the criteria.”
The district later reversed its response, stating the list of 19 teachers was provided in error.
Doug Larson, the general counsel for Granite, threatened to sue FOX 13 News if we reported on those cases.
In a meeting with FOX 13 News, Larson clarified that none of the teachers were disciplined for bullying, although four of the cases “absolutely do meet the definition of bullying.”
"It could have constituted bullying. It’s just not what we labeled it,” Larson said. “While teachers were disciplined for a variety of things, no findings were made of bullying... To report otherwise would be an inaccurate mischaracterization."
Larson stated he does not discipline teachers for bullying because the state definition is “unacceptably broad” and is “so often distorted.”
Instead, each of the 19 teachers were disciplined for “improper conduct.”
Granite School District has adopted a nearly identical (and similarly broad) definition of bullying in its district policy, despite Granite expressing it does not agree with the state definition.
- Brandon Riddle
Granite School District only provided disciplinary records related to Brandon Riddle after FOX 13 News found the case on USBE’s website.
Riddle was a teacher at Millcreek Elementary. He was investigated due to a complaint that he was “berating” students and that he “treated a student like a dog and used extreme punishments.”
“It was also reported that Mr. Riddle coaxed a student down the hall like a dog using chips and saying, ‘Here boy’ and ‘Good boy,’” according to a statement from Granite School District.
USBE issued a “reprimand” in October 2022.
Riddle resigned from his position in Spring 2022.
- Kimberly Cruz-Romero
Granite School District declined to provide records related to Kimberly Cruz-Romero, an attendance tracker at Granite Park Jr. High who was terminated in January 2023.
She was accused of “(having) sex with an 8th grade boy – possible statutory rape – possible sex with multiple students – possibly fled to Mexico – possibly pregnant – possible providing weapons to students.”
According to arrest documents, there was photo and video evidence to support allegations that Cruz-Romero and the victim engaged in sexual activities several times, including in an office at the school, in a hotel room, and in a vehicle.
The victim reportedly told police that he wanted to end the relationship, but he had been threatened by gang members with ties to Cruz-Romero.
Cruz-Romero told investigators she went to Mexico to have surgery for a miscarriage.
In 2023, she was found guilty of criminal solicitation, witness tampering, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
FOX 13 News has filed multiple requests with Granite School District for records, some of which have been denied.
“Being involved in the disciplinary process does not mean an employee deserves to have isolated instances of misconduct exposed to the public,” wrote Joseph Cramer, a records officer for the district. “Using teachers as fodder for tabloid style newspaper articles is not in the best interest of the public.”
FOX 13 News disagrees with the characterization and is appealing the decision under Utah’s public records law.
Information on other disciplinary cases, some of which match the definition of bullying, can be found here.
Jordan School District
In an email, Jordan School District stated it has identified two bullying complaints but zero sustained cases.
FOX 13 News later uncovered additional information about multiple teachers whose disciplinary files were initially withheld by the district. At least one of the cases matches the state’s definition of bullying.
- Michelle Houck
Michelle Houck, a 5th-grade teacher at Westvale Elementary, resigned from Jordan School District in November 2022 after receiving a notice of termination.
USBE described her misconduct as follows:
“Ms. Houck violated the Utah Educator Standards by making negative comments about a student’s mother to her class and by inappropriately involving the class in the school’s investigation... (A student) reported Ms. Houck said (redacted’s) mother could not make it to parent-teacher conferences because she was a stripper. In an attempt to prove she did not say this, Ms. Houck asked her class to sign a paper which stated (redacted) said her mother was a pole dancer.”
In reality, the student’s mother was not a stripper.
Houck denied saying the student’s mother was a stripper. She created a piece of paper, with several typed statements, and got it signed by 18 students in an effort to bolster her case. This reportedly “embarrassed the student,” and investigators found the strategy to be highly inappropriate.
Some students said they “felt uncomfortable being asked to sign” and stated Houck “yelled at students who did not want to sign the paper.”
District HR reportedly told USBE that Houck “had been blocked as a substitute from several schools due to similar behaviors.”
USBE specifically contemplated Houck’s actions as “bullying” in its report, issuing a “reprimand” in December 2023.
Jordan School District has declined to answer why this case was withheld from FOX 13 News when we requested access to records related to bullying.
Washington School District
In an email, Washington School District stated it has identified seven bullying complaints but zero sustained cases.
"We investigate a lot of employee misconduct that might technically, looking at it from a different lens, meet the definition of bullying (just like murder or physical assault also meet the definition of 'bullying'), but was not reported to us as bullying, and not investigated as such," wrote HR Director Darin Thomas.
The district also stated it has identified zero complaints of cyber-bullying or retaliation.
FOX 13 News later uncovered additional information about one teacher whose case was initially withheld by the district.
- Tawney Campbell
Tawney Campbell, an animal science teacher at Snow Canyon High School, had her license suspended for one year by USBE in February 2024.
USBE described her misconduct as follows:
“Educator licked students’ faces on two occasions and took a group of students to a Hooters restaurant during a road trip.”
Campbell reportedly admitted to hugging students and kissing/ licking them on the cheek. She identified four students from Snow Canyon High School, plus “one or two” students from Hurricane High School.
She referred to it as an “act of endearment, as if from a puppy dog.”
“She kissed me on the cheek and then licked me on the cheek,” wrote one student. “It made me feel very uncomfortable, and I didn’t know what to do. So I went and talked to (redacted) and he said she did the same thing to him. So we just ignored it because she’s a very bubbly person so we thought it was just her personality.”
Campbell also “admitted that the first time she ever licked the cheek of a student was in her classroom about three weeks (prior). In that case she was attempting to wake up a student who was asleep on the floor during lunch period. She kneeled on the floor and licked him in the presence of his girlfriend.”
Some of the parents reported being unphased by the behavior. One parent expressed that it was “blown out of proportion.”
Principal Kim Monkres stated she “is not concerned” about Ms. Campbell having inappropriate relationships with students; “Campbell is quirky, funny, and has a lot of energy. Monkres absolutely does not believe this behavior was malicious or sexual in any way... Principal Monkres has no concerns about Ms. Campbell being a teacher and would hire her again.”
Campbell stated she “is really sad about what she did,” and even though the “process has been rough for her... she is grateful she has been able to go through it.”
A spokesperson for the district acknowledged Campbell’s conduct met the state definition of bullying, but the records were not initially provided because she technically resigned in lieu of discipline. Records show the district planned to terminate her if she did not resign.
She received a $11,768 severance.
Nebo School District
In an email, Nebo School District stated it has identified seven bullying complaints, three of which were sustained. One of the cases involved a teacher accused of bullying coworkers. The other two cases involved the same teacher.
The district also stated it has identified zero complaints of cyber-bullying.
FOX 13 News obtained information on one additional sustained case from USBE.
- James “Scott” McFarland
James “Scott” McFarland, a 7th-grade teacher at Mt. Nebo Middle School, was issued a “reprimand” by USBE in January 2024.
USBE described his misconduct as using "excessive” physical force:
“Educator pushed a student to the ground who ignored his directives to stop skateboarding in the school hallway... The student pushed Mr. McFarland, then Mr. McFarland pushed the student... The video showed that after the student pushed Mr. McFarland, Mr. McFarland (who is much bigger than the student) grabbed the student by the shirt, pushed him along the lockers a few times, then pushed the student to the ground.”
McFarland resigned during the investigation, prior to any district-level discipline being imposed.
Officers with the Payson Police Department investigated. McFarland was charged with assault but later pleaded guilty to an amended charge of disorderly conduct in October 2023. He took anger management classes and received a plea in abeyance.
Prior to this case, in 2022, “about nine female students” filed complaints against McFarland for boundary violations.
Several students say McFarland touched their shoulders or backs. At least one student said McFarland played with her hair. At least two students reported “perverted comments.”
“He has poked one of my friends belly buttons if they wore crop tops,” a student wrote. “Whenever he looks at you or talks to you when you're sitting at your desk he always looks you up and down like quick glances.”
Principal Rhet Rowley issued a “Letter of Warning.”
A female teacher also reported McFarland joked with her inappropriately during an after-school Dungeons and Dragons gathering for faculty.
McFarland denied the allegations, stating he’s extremely careful to not make physical contact with students.
“I worry that I have received a letter of warning based upon no hard evidence, just the word of teenagers without fully-formed brains capable of making mature decisions,” McFarland wrote.
Information on other disciplinary cases, some of which match the definition of bullying, can be found here.
Canyons School District
In an email, Canyons School District stated it has identified 10 bullying complaints but zero sustained cases.
The district also stated it has identified zero district-level cases related to cyber-bullying.
Canyons School District stated it would cost “several thousand dollars” to complete its search for disciplinary records because it does not have easy access to “school-level” discipline.
FOX 13 News later uncovered additional information about multiple teachers who were disciplined for other reasons. In one of those cases, the district specifically mentioned bullying in its discipline.
- Christian Taype-Postigo
Christian Taype-Postigo, a teacher at Midvale Elementary, was issued a “written reprimand” in March 2023 by Canyons School District for disciplining students “with undue emotion.”
He was accused of yelling, physically pulling a student up from his seat, sitting him down, pushing the chair behind the student so he would sit, and then kicking the student’s feet.
A parent reported Taype-Postigo for “yelling all of the time” and telling a student, “You will sit down, or I’ll make you.”
Taype-Postigo said he did not touch the student “in an aggressive way.”
“Multiple students were interviewed and confirmed that you physically lifted the student up, pushing him into his seat/chair,” wrote Principal Lori Reynolds. “The students perceived that you were being aggressive.”
Statements from four student witnesses were redacted from the Canyons report.
Canyons instructed Taype-Postigo to not “retaliate, intimidate, and/or bully any student.”
USBE issued Taype-Postigo a “Letter of Warning” in August 2023.
Weber School District
In an email, Weber School District stated it has identified 67 bullying complaints, 18 of which were sustained.
The district declined to provide the names of each employee. FOX 13 News is appealing the decision under Utah’s public records law.
Weber School District also attempted to charge $888 for access to the records, which FOX 13 News is appealing.
As a courtesy, the district provided a short synopsis of each case for free.
Tooele County School District
In an email, Tooele County School District stated it would not provide disciplinary records related to bullying unless FOX 13 News paid an estimate fee of $950.15.
The district also stated it would not provide disciplinary records related to cyber-bullying, retaliation, or grooming without first receiving estimate payments of $950.15.
“That’s ridiculous,” Campbell said. “I have a hunch that if the Tooele District just asked all of its principals to give us some cases, they probably can name them.”
FOX 13 News is appealing the decision under Utah’s public records law.
“I would call it a dereliction of duty if they’re not even keeping track of this,” Campbell said. “What happens in Tooele School District if there’s a complaint against a teacher? I’m sure there’s somebody that deals with it!”
Information on other disciplinary cases, at least one of which matches the USBE definition of “violence with student,” can be found here.
Cache County School District
In an email, Cache County School District stated it has received zero bullying complaints.
The district also stated it has identified zero complaints related to cyber-bullying.
Salt Lake City School District
In an email, Salt Lake City School District stated it has identified 24 bullying complaints, three of which were sustained.
Information on those cases can be found here.
Other cases
If you have disciplinary questions about your child’s teacher, and the school isn’t answering those questions, please send an email to iteam@fox13now.com so the FOX 13 Investigates team can help you fight for access to public records.