Nayt Taylor: Rainer High School Student Reports Bullying, Gets Suspended For It

Nayt Taylor thought he was doing the right thing by reporting bullying at his Rainer High School, but instead he was the one who ended up with a two-day suspension.

The incident started last Thursday, when someone at Nayt’s high school posted a picture of a freshman with a caption that read, “This is the biggest [expletive] I know.” After several more comments showed up, the freshman became very upset and even thought about hurting himself.

Nayt decided to do something.

“I didn’t want to ignore this because people’s lives were at stake,” he said.

Instead of stepping in to stop the bullying, a high school counselor instead told Nayt to “drop it.” But he didn’t drop it, and went to his principal to inform the school about the picture. When the picture stayed up, Nayt went to the principal again, only to told that he was the one who would be suspended.

“I got suspended before the girls that posted the picture, before the girls that had commented on the picture,” Taylor said.

Nayt’s father, Chad Taylor, said he thinks the incident shows that Rainer High School has no idea how to handle bullying.

“My son was flat out suspended for reporting a bullying incident, which they hold assemblies every week to tell you what to do. They post signs all over the hallway to tell you to do,” said Chad Taylor. “You tell me, what kind of message are they sending?”

But the Rainer School District disagrees with Nayt’s account of events. They say he wasn’t suspended for bullying, but instead of “impeding an investigation” and using profanity toward school officials. Officials even showed reporters Taylor’s disciplinary file, which noted that he was being “being disruptive – loud, boisterous.”

“No student has ever been suspended or will ever be suspended for coming to advocate for his other fellow student or anyone in the community,” said the district’s superintendent, Michael Carter. “That wouldn’t be our policy, procedure. That’s not the right thing to do.”

Taylor said he met with the superintendent, who threatened to withhold his diploma if Naty went public with the incident.

Carter’s response: “Using the media irresponsibly without total knowledge only hurts everyone and it benefits no one.”

Not everyone was buying the school’s explanation of the incident. Several commenters on a KPTV article on the incident believe the school’s allegation that Nayt Taylor used profanity were simple a cover for their own mistake.

“I think superintendent Michael Carter added the inappropriate language when the news media came to school to find out what was going on,” wrote Shelley. “He didn’t want to look like the one with egg on his face.”

As of now, Nayt Taylor is in “good standing” and allowed to graduate, but the Rainer High School student is still upset that he was suspended for reporting bullying in his school.