Parents Demand Apology From Sweetwater County School District

On a weekday in January 2024, Rock Springs resident Rachel Seppie received a call from an elementary school nurse, who explained there’d been an incident with her fourth-grade child.

When Seppie arrived at the school 20 minutes later, she was appalled by what she found. 

The child, who is enrolled in the district’s special education program, had been left unsupervised and by himself for a long period of time.

“I found out that literally nobody aided at all in this situation, and it was very unsafe. I felt like it was straight-up neglect,” Seppie said.

She filed a complaint with the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE). Her family’s relationship with the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 has been rocky since.

Her husband, Cole Seppie, was elected to the school board later that year. His short tenure was marked by complaints, investigations and a public censure.

Now the family’s frustrations are rising again with the findings of a state investigation released last month.

In January, the WDE issued a decision in a special‑education complaint that found SCSD out of compliance with federal rules governing student confidentiality and parents’ participation rights in multiple cases, including the Seppies'.

The decision triggered a corrective action plan requiring mandatory training to be monitored by the state.

Rachel Seppie is now calling for the public reprimand of the school board chair, Cole Wright, who is the same official that publicly censured her husband several months earlier.

“I’m not doing that to be vindictive. I just think this district needs to take accountability in order to regain public trust,” she said.

Growing List Of Concerns

The report reinforces a pattern of parental complaints with the district. 

Parents criticized the delayed response when a teacher accidentally projected a personal nude photo during a special education class. 

They expressed outrage over reports of school officials wearing vulgar wristbands. They blasted the board for high staff vacancies and a behind-the-scenes pay raise for one trustee.

The issues are among the reasons the WDE is monitoring special education practices, Cowboy State Daily was first to report.

“We’ve had news and findings in the world of special education, as well as just stacks and stacks of reports and complaints from parents,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder on Wednesday on the "Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake Nichols."

“I like to defer to local control, but at the end of the day, when the state needs to step in, that’s what we’re here for," she said.

Seppie's criticism only adds to the embattled school district’s list of issues.

Rachel Seppie says full justice for her family requires more. She sent a letter to trustees asking for a public censure and apology, from Board Chair Cole Wright specifically.

“I won’t feel like justice has been served until the board issues a public censure and public apology,” she said.

SDSC Superintendent Joseph Libby told Cowboy State Daily the district disagrees with both the WDE decision as well as Seppie's call in response.

“The District disagrees with the characterization underlying (Seppie’s) call for a reprimand and has formally requested reconsideration of the WDE determination on that issue. That matter is not final,” Libby said in an emailed response. 

WDE officials could not be reached for comment on whether the decision is being reconsidered.

Seppie Censured First

Cole Seppie is lifelong county resident, former student athlete at Rock Springs High, and a licensed physical therapist.

In 2024, he swept county school board elections with the highest margin among candidates for open positions in that year’s race, according to election records.

His popularity with voters, however, didn’t translate with fellow trustees, who initiated an investigation into him shortly after he was sworn in.

School Visits Prompt Investigation

Cole Seppie told Cowboy State Daily his primary focus as a board member was to help food-insecure families and improve trustee relations with parents and staff.

To those ends, he set out to visit individual schools in what he described as fact-finding missions. The superintendent and other trustees disliked the idea, he said.

“They said they didn’t think it was a good idea, and I asked, 'Well, how else am I supposed to be an informed member of the board if I’m not talking to the people that I’m making decisions for?'” he said.

He went ahead with the visits despite concerns.

“I went and talked to teachers, janitors, lunchroom staff. I talked to the principals, and I always asked the same three questions,” he said.

“I asked them: 'What can the board do to make you more successful in your job? Are you getting the support you need from your building administration and central office? And is there anything else you’d like to share — positive or negative?'”

Anonymous Complaint

In February 2025, a staff member made an anonymous complaint against Cole Seppie, alleging bullying behavior in connection to one of his school visits, Superintendent Joseph Libby informed him.

The complaint prompted an inquiry conducted by outside investigators retained by the district.

Cole Seppie said declined to participate in the investigation, following legal advice.

“They wouldn’t tell me what I allegedly did, or where, or when it occurred,” he said. "Without that information, there was no meaningful way to provide a defense for myself.”

Investigators concluded that, “Dr. Seppie’s actions exposed the district to legal and reputational risk, including possible violations of the Family, Educational Rights and Privacy Act,” according to the public censure read by Wright, the school board chairman, and supported unanimously by the board during a Nov. 11, 2025, public meeting.

The first investigation resulted in a private reprimand.

Cole Seppie filed a retaliation complaint against the district’s special services director, arguing the investigations were driven by ulterior motives. 

He believes the board was retaliating for his wife’s outspoken advocacy and complaints against the district prior to his time on the board.

He also argues the process was flawed and resulted in falsehoods, including the claim that he’d kept one teacher in a discussion for three hours.

“I was never even in a single school for three hours," he said. "Teachers don’t have that kind of time. I don’t have that kind of time. So, I said get the video footage of my time in the school, and they told me the videotape doesn’t exist.

“A lot of the stuff that they accused me of was wildly false.”

Substantiated Claims Only, Superintendent Says

Superintendent Libby said investigators turned up claims that were substantiated as well as those that were unsubstantiated. The board disregarded uncorroborated findings. 

“In both investigations there were findings that were substantiated and findings that were unsubstantiated. The board only acted on substantiated findings, and furthermore acted in accordance with investigators recommendations,” he said, adding that the claim of Cole Seppie's three-hour teacher interrogation was found to be not factual.

Records Request

On Dec 1, 2025, Cowboy State Daily filed a public records request with the district for all records and findings of two investigations pertaining to the board’s public censure of Cole Seppie.

On Feb 5, 2026, Assistant Superintendent Nicole Bolton informed Cowboy State Daily the request had been denied for one or more of the following reasons:

The records are either protected by attorney-client privilege, they are exempt from disclosure to protect against an invasion of privacy, or they are “not in the custody or control of the District,” said Bolton, who cited state statute.

Superintendent Libby and Wright did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

In contrast, board members provided too many records for the inquiry into Cole Seppie, WDE’s investigation found.

According to the report, the district:

• Improperly accessed confidential education records.

• Disclosed information in a public meeting without parental consent.

• Violated confidentiality protections for a student with a disability.

• Interfered with meaningful parental participation under IDEA.

“They were so desperate to bolster cases against my husband that they drug an innocent child into it. I’m pissed because my child didn’t deserve that, and as parents we had every right to advocate for our child,” Rachel Seppie said.

“That information never should have crossed the board’s desk, let alone be repeated by them out loud in a public meeting," she said.

Resignation

In the wake of the investigations, and less than a year into his role as trustee, Cole Seppie resigned.

“My time on the board has been met with opposition, retaliation, and has become an unhealthy work environment with no signs of improving,” he said in his resignation letter.

“It took a lot for me to step away from this board, but there is a problem with this board, and if I couldn’t improve it as a board member, I was going to step away and do it not as a board member,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

Where It All Began

Among the improper disclosures implicated in WDE’s special education investigation were records from the complaint Rachel Seppie filed with WDE two years earlier, related to the January 2024 incident with their child.

There she argued the district failed to abide by her child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), which entail how accommodations are drawn for children with disabilities.

She was unsatisfied with WDE’s response, an excerpt from which was provided to Cowboy State Daily.

“The IEP indicated the Student was to receive assistance in the bathroom when requested. There is no indication the Student requested and was denied…” the WDE resolution excerpt reads.

“Moreover, even if the student had requested assistance in the restroom and it was denied, the failure to provide assistance would have only been a minor discrepancy and would not have resulted in finding of implementation failure.”

Seppie said, “We obviously strongly disagreed on describing the incident as ‘minor.’”

Soon after, their child transitioned to a different school within the district, and the Seppies say they’re happy with the child’s current education team.

Where Do Things Stand Now?

Libby said the district is waiting before it makes any official moves, and he hinted that whatever the outcome of the WDE’s reconsideration, public censure is not on the short list of school board priorities.

“Once the matter is finalized with WDE, the District will comply with any corrective actions; however, there is nothing within the determination that would warrant any discipline of any current member of the board or staff," Libby said. "All actions by the Board chair were the result of unanimous board action after due deliberation.

“Regardless of outcome, the District remains committed to continuous improvement and is always open to additional training and guidance.”

In the board’s censure of Seppie, it states his “interactions with district staff raised significant concerns regarding micromanagement and his role as a trustee,” Wright said, quoting from the investigation.

Pending the outcome of Seppie’s retaliation complaint, those statements could be tacked with an asterisk.

The censure was not about punishment, but transparency, Wright said.

“The purpose of this action is not to impose discipline, but to ensure transparency and make clear to employees and the public that this behavior is not tolerated or concealed,” said Wright.

Rachel Seppie said she isn’t holding her breath that the board will give the state’s unflattering report of the school district’s special education programs the same attention and treatment.

“The hypocrisy of this board is unbelievable,” she said.

Zakary Sonntag can be reached at zakary@cowboystatedaily.com.