State reviewing Fairfield staffers named in Emilie Olsen lawsuit

Officials with the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct said they are reviewing some of the Fairfield Schools personnel alleged in a federal lawsuit to have been connected to the suicide of Emilie Olsen in December 2014.

Officials with the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct said they are reviewing some of the Fairfield Schools personnel alleged in a federal lawsuit to have been connected to the suicide of Emilie Olsen in December 2014.

The actions of Fairfield Schools personnel, alleged in a lawsuit to be connected with a student's suicide, are being reviewed by the Ohio Department of Education.

The December 2014 death of Emilie Olsen, who was a 13-year-old student at Fairfield Middle School when she fatally shot herself in her home, prompted a 2015 federal lawsuit by her parents, accusing school officials of ignoring reports of alleged bullying her family contends led to her suicide.

The lawsuit names a number of Fairfield teachers and administrators.

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Officials at the state department’s Office of Professional Conduct said Monday they were “made aware of the situation and is already in the process of reviewing the matter. We cannot provide anything further at this time,” said department spokeswoman Brittany Halpin.

Halpin explained the office’s practice is to neither confirm nor deny any investigations of educators and administrators licensed by the state.

According to the website for the Office of Professional Conduct, officials there investigate “allegations involving criminal convictions or conduct unbecoming the teaching profession.”

If the office decides there was misconduct involving a teacher or school official, that educator could lose his or her license and employment.

In their multi-count claim against the Fairfield district, the Olsens allege a failure at every level — from teachers to guidance counselors, assistant principals, principals and the district superintendent — to provide a safe learning environment for their daughter.

Fairfield Schools officials declined to comment Monday, saying they do not make statements on pending litigation.

In April, Fairfield school officials filed a rebuttal to the Olsen’s lawsuit.

In that filing, school officials asked the judge in a U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to rule on 10 counts made in the Olsen’s lawsuit without allowing them to introduce evidence.

In May, Fairfield Middle School Principal Lincoln Butts submitted his resignation.

Butts, a principal at the school for about two years, was among those named in the Olsen family’s lawsuit.

School officials declined in May to comment about the resignation, stating Butts’ resignation letter was for “personal reasons.”

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