MITCHELL STIPP, JR.

Many visitors to this page already know that Mitchell Jr.’s parents filed a lawsuit in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County, State of Nevada (Case No. A-26-953836-C, Department 4) against Faith Lutheran High School (“Faith”). Mitchell Jr. is a bright, talented young boy who loves attending Faith and has built meaningful relationships with his friends, mentors, and teachers. He has been part of the Mark 10:14 community for three years, and his parents hope he can continue at Faith through graduation.

Mitchell Jr. has arrived at school between 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. since he first enrolled at Faith because he receives medically necessary services from providers in the mornings. After the start of this school year, his parents were informed that he would be required to start school at 7:30 a.m. or they would need to withdraw him. They were given only a few school days to make this decision. His parents asked at least three times to meet with the school’s administrators. The administrators eventually agreed, but stated that the meeting would be “at their convenience” and would “only be brief,” and that “under no circumstances” would the school change its position.

Mitchell Jr.’s parents reached out to the school’s new CEO, Mychal Thom, who agreed to meet with them. Mr. Thom indicated that Mitchell Jr. could continue his late-arrival schedule through graduation and that the arrangement would be documented to prevent future disputes. However, he asked the parents to work with the high school administrators to finalize the agreement.  After meeting with Mr. Thom, Mitchell Jr.’s parents met with several administrators, including Director of Academic Support Anna Peralta. Ms. Peralta presented them with a two-page agreement requiring a behavioral plan for Mitchell Jr. and limiting his late-arrival arrangement to the 2026–2027 school year.

Mitchell Jr. engages in stimming as a manifestation of his conditions. Stimming, short for self-stimulatory behavior, includes physical movements such as hand-flapping, rocking, or pacing, as well as common habits such as nail-biting or pen-clicking. Although often associated with autism and ADHD, stimming is not limited to people with those conditions and can help people manage stress, boredom, or excitement.

For the first time, Faith’s administration began referring to Mitchell Jr.’s stimming as “jabbing” or “violent behavior.” Ms. Peralta recommended imposing a behavioral plan as a condition to accommodating the late arrival with the following consequences, which she claimed Mr. Thom had personally approved: (a) if Mitchell Jr. engaged in stimming, he would be sent home for the day; and (b) after four instances of stimming, the school reserved the right to expel him. When asked whether his parents could discuss or propose changes to the two-page agreement, Ms. Peralta advised that it was “non-negotiable.”

Mitchell Jr.’s parents rejected the agreement because they believed the proposed “behavioral plan” was a pretext for expelling him. Mitchell Jr. has no history of violent behavior and has never harmed anyone at school (including at Faith). Under these circumstances, his parents advised Principal Kat Stokes that they would seek court intervention. In response, she advised them to stop bringing "their child" to school and to withdraw him immediately.

Mitchell Jr.’s parents obtained a temporary restraining order and subsequently reached an agreement with Faith to stipulate to a preliminary injunction. The preliminary injunction orders Faith to allow Mitchell Jr.’s late arrivals and to cease its attempts to expel him pending trial.

The case has attracted media attention. Faith is a well known private school in the Las Vegas community, and Mitchell Jr.’s parents find Faith's actions to find ways to expel Mitchell, Jr. or deny him an adjusted diploma appalling. Faith has dropped the requirement for a behavioral plan but now insists Mitchell, Jr. complete the same credit requirements as neurotypical students who are not in the Mark 10:14 Program.  This situation has been extremely difficult for Mitchell Jr. His parents’ priority is protecting his well-being and shielding him from conflict with the school so that he feels safe, accepted, and supported. They also want to protect the Mark 10:14 program from any harm.

For more information about Mitchell Jr.’s story, please click the following icon to view Channel 13’s News report: