Rancho Bernardo High School

Broomstick incident

In a 1997 incident, three baseball players pleaded guilty to sodomizing a new teammate with a broom handle in the locker room after a game. The school district paid $675,000 to settle the claim and the three players were sentenced to time in juvenile hall. The students stated there was a tradition of hazing in which older team members would threaten to rape incoming freshmen players, or would perform simulated rape.^[4]

Underwear incident

In April 2002, one of the school's assistant principals forced female students at a school dance to lift their clothing and expose their underwear, in search of G-strings and thongs. The district said the reason for the check was to "ensure appropriate school dress."^[5] Rita Wilson, the assistant principal involved in this incident, was later demoted to a teaching position.^[6]

Noose incident

In November 2007, a noose along with written racial slurs were found inside the school's performing arts center.^[7] As of December 2007, Poway Unified School District administrators have confirmed that a student has been identified and now the hate crime has been recognized as a misunderstanding and no action has been taken.^[8]

Hacking incident

In April and May 2008, eight students were identified for hacking into the school's website, downloading teacher files, distributing tests to students, and altering transcripts. Assistant Principal Keith Koelzer issued a memo to teachers regarding the students involved. The memo was later released to The San Diego Union-Tribune for printing.^[9]

Graffiti Incident(s)

In October 2013, before the homecoming game vs Del Norte High School took place, the school was covered in swastikas, profane language, and other drawn obscenities.^[10]

An additional incident occurred in which after students returned to the campus following the break for the observance of President's Week, the campus was covered in threats proclaiming that at 12 PM on the 26th of February, 2018, a person would "shoot up" the school. The messages sprayed around the campus involved threats such as "The innocent will die," "The next American tragedy," and "Florida was nothing." ^[11]