DES MOINES, Iowa — The Safris vs. Urbandale Schools trial is beginning to wind down with the final witnesses and closing statements expected to be heard on Thursday.
The Safris family filed a lawsuit against Urbandale Schools alleging that due to negligence and failure to follow policy, their daughter was sexually assaulted during middle school in 2018, which eventually led to her becoming suicidal.
The lawsuit claims the daughter sent explicit photos to a male classmate, who then asked the girl out. After she rejected him, he sent the photos to others in the school and sexually assaulted her during their middle school English class.
Jennifer Drobac, a professor of law and writer with a focus on sexual harassment, was the only witness to take the stand Wednesday.
Drobac was asked by the defense to examine the case and determine if the school administrators and principal took all the required action declared in their policy handbook. She was also asked to determine if the teachers present in the classroom were properly observing their students and following guidelines laid out in certain students’ education plans.
“The teachers are responsible for making sure the students aren’t being harmed, at the basic level, when you talk about sexual harassment, discrimination. They are there first and foremost to teach but they have to keep students safe and from what I could tell based on what was going on in the classroom they were doing that,” said Drobac. “They were moving through the classroom, they were checking in on students, and I got this information not only from the teacher’s deposition, but I also looked at the students’ depositions, including (the victim).”
In her examination of the depositions and evidence she says that it’s evident that the teachers weren’t aware of any issues and that many of the students confirmed the teachers didn’t know there was an issue in the classroom.
The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that as someone who was not present in the classroom, Drobac cannot accurately determine if teachers were following policy.
“I can say whether they [the teachers] said they were [following the policy], but I can’t evaluate what was required and whether they did that,” said Drobac. “I can only offer what they said they were required to do and whether they did it.”
The court adjourned early Wednesday, but a full day is expected Thursday.
The defense expects to present their final witnesses Thursday morning. After the witnesses, both sides will deliver their final arguments. It’s expected that the jury will begin deliberating the case Thursday afternoon.
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