Home / Social Issues & Justice / Tennessee School Expelled...

Tennessee School Expelled 12-Year-Old Over Social Media Post Without Proper Threat Assessment, Report Finds

Nashville, Tennessee

May 28, 2025 1 Left General

Social Issues & Justice Sponsor this article

Nashville, Tennessee: A ProPublica investigation reveals that a 12-year-old boy was expelled for reposting a threatening text image on Instagram—yet the school allegedly bypassed the legally required threat assessment. The district didn’t notify parents of the process, conflicting with state law mandating thorough review before expulsion. Critics say this case exemplifies overreliance on police action, where administrators halted their own investigation once an arrest was made. Child advocates warn such practices disproportionately harm students, erode due process, and fail to address underlying issues.

What this means for you:

•	In the next 2–4 weeks, if you have school-age kids, ask school officials about threat assessment protocols—clarify parents’ roles.
•	If you sense your child could be disciplined for online posts, ensure they understand the seriousness of social media content.
•	Over 3–6 months, watch local board meetings or legislative sessions—parents have successfully pushed reforms requiring objective, standardized assessments.
•	For legal protection, keep documentation of communications with administrators if discipline concerns arise.

Key Entities

• 12-year-old James: Student expelled after reposting an alleged threat.
• DuPont Tyler Middle School: Nashville institution where incident occurred.
• ProPublica: Investigative outlet exposing potential violations of Tennessee law.

Multi-Perspective Analysis

Left-Leaning View

Emphasizes due process failures and potential harm to students from heavy-handed discipline.

Centrist View

(No major coverage).

Right-Leaning View

(No major coverage).

Want to dive deeper?

We've prepared an in-depth analysis of this story with additional context and background.

Featuring Our Experts' Perspectives in an easy-to-read format.

Read Deep Dive

Future Snapshot

See how this story could impact your life in the coming months

Exclusive Member Feature

Create a free account to access personalized Future Snapshots

Create Account

Future Snapshots show you personalized visions of how insights from this story could positively impact your life in the next 6-12 months.

Tailored to your life indicators
Clear next steps and action items
Save snapshots to your profile

Related Roadmaps

Explore step-by-step guides related to this story, designed to help you apply this knowledge in your life.

Loading roadmaps...

Please wait while we find relevant roadmaps for you.

New Sign up to Create Roadmaps Free Explore All Roadmaps

Your Opinion

Do you believe schools should be required to complete a full threat assessment before expelling any student for social media posts?

Your feedback helps us improve our content.

Comments (0)

Add your comment

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!