8th-Grader Punished After Reporting Students Had Sex On Bus (did not report it soon enough)

8th-Grader Punished After Reporting Students Had Sex On Bus

Posted: 2:26 pm EDT May 13, 2011Updated: 5:17 pm EDT May 13, 2011
DAYTON, Ohio -- An eighth-grade charter school student who said she saw two classmates having sex on a bus during a group spring break trip is being punished for reporting the incident, her mother said.

The girl, who goes to Dayton View Academy, waited until she got home to tell her mom what she saw. The school is punishing her for not telling chaperons who were on the bus at the time it happened.

"If you tell something on a kid, you have to look for the response from that child and at the time," said Saundra Roundtree, the girl's mother. "She was afraid. I told her 'don't say anything when you are at school. I will handle it.' "

Roundtree said her daughter won't be able to go to her eighth-grade prom or the class picnic. The students who reportedly had sex are being punished as well, but Roundtree feels as though disciplining her daughter sends the wrong message. She added that all eight chaperons were sitting in the front of the bus watching a movie when the incident occurred.

http://www.whiotv.com/news/27886932/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

all they did was reinforce a child not going to teacher or chaperone.

And yes, she should have kept it quiet. I have a feeling there is more to this story that we will never hear.

to class when they suspended her from events.

The fact that the mother is willing to go to the media indicates to me that there ISN'T more to the story -- your "feelings" aside. The school "outed" her when they chose to publicly discipline her, by banning her from the prom and the class picnic.

Schools do stupid things all the time -- another high school student was banned from his prom recently because he taped cardboard letters on his school asking a girl to go with him.

And as they say, "nobody likes a tattletale".

How do you think she felt about that? And what makes you think the other two students hadn't already spread the word about who had turned them in? They would have to know, and no one could stop them from talking.

That the school gave the info and *publicly* punished her?

The school publicly punished her by not allowing her to go to school events.

And, legally, the school HAD to tell the other students who gave witness against them. So the other students knew and no doubt told their friends. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know kids or human nature.

...verses telling her privately she couldn't attend those events as punishment. I missed the part in the article where it says the school did that. Perhaps you've read another, more in-depth article on the topic?

Also, are you are familiar enough with Ohio State law to confidently state that the school *had* to tell the other students who told on them? AND are you equating the school telling the accused students with the story being all over the news and discussed by people like us on the internet?

students already HAD to know who "tattled" since ALL states and the Federal government have laws requiring that accusers be identified. Any damage to the girl's reputation among her peers was already done before her mother went to the media. And this has hardly damaged her reputation for anyone else. SHE didn't do anything wrong!

They banned this girl from major public events at her school -- if she had shown up anyway, they would have PUBLICLY exposed her. So there was, at the very least, the real threat of publicly shaming her. And for nothing!

Whatever state and federal laws you imagine you're referring to, doubtfully apply to the situation.

They can't suspend students or invoke other punishments without following at least minimal measures of due process -- and naming the accuser would be MINIMAL.

Reality usually indicates otherwise. I seriously doubt, although I have no more authoritative proof than you appear to have, that a school is required by law to say who 'tattled' when doling out suspensions and baring students from proms.

And I've read quite a few. LOL

I would hope any good teacher would agree that students subject to major disciplinary action should have the right to due process and to know who's making claims against them.

I'm beginning to think you retired in the nick of time. Burnout is real.

Once again you have no idea. Jumping to conclusions all over the place.

Administration what happened. We know who it was that said something. Our son never said a word, however that did not stop an irate parent from calling our home accusing our son and us as being the people who told the administration. Now don't get me wrong, I had no problem telling them, however by the time I made the call the other parent of the student who saw what happened to my son had told the administration.

Truth be damned, those parents still think WE or our son were the ones who told. So no, the perpetrators really don't know who told.

Until we have more details, we don't really know what happened.

Here's a great example of parents running to the media and only providing part of the story: http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2011/04/youtube_video_shows_raymore-pe.php

Just like parents, they are all human, and they are all capable of doing wrong.

I knew I didn't need to read further.

And I thought we were crazy down here!

I have kids in elementary school (4th and 5th grade), and our children are often at the mercy
of incredibly dysfunctional school administrators. My children's school principal is certifiable.
There are many times that these buffoons make very poor and often disturbing decisions that affect
our children. Often, the worst administrative offenders are rigid in their thinking and unwilling
to be open minded and rational.

This leaves the parent with very little choice about what happens to their child; and these poor decisions
cause suffering for the child and often for the entire family--just because some idiot school administrator
has a big ego or some other psychological problem.

This can be very upsetting to a parent. I once had a principal refuse to deal with bullying
at school. My child was being bitten in the face and this went on for several weeks.

Looking back, I wish I had taken the issue farther--even to the media. Because you and your
child really are at the mercy of these people--and often you're not asked your opinion--the
decisions just get handed down.

I can understand why going to the media might be attractive. It opens up the problem and puts a spotlight
on these bad decisions, thus making these administrators accountable for their actions.

This student who saw her classmates having sex did nothing wrong. She was probably shocked at what
she was seeing and probably embarrassed. We're talking about a 13-year-old girl. Maybe she was
afraid of telling. She's obviously a good kid. She told her mother. What about the adults on that
bus who weren't paying attention nor doing their jobs--and missed two kids having sex? What is
their punnishment?

The school made a poor decision and it was unfair. There's nothing wrong with shining a little light on this
incident. Let the school justify and back up their decision out in the open. We're tax payers. We
pay the salaries of these administrators and they should answer to the community and they should not
be allowed to make bad decisions in the dark--with parents and children just accepting them.

"The authorities have completed their investigation, and the school has taken appropriate actions inline with our school policies concerning such matters."

I'm not going to judge them or the girl because there is a serious lack of details in this report.

It sounds to me like they investigated and took the wrong action.

Congratulations.

would never be to punish a student SIMPLY for a delay in reporting another student's misbehavior to them.

What was given was a corporate response.

I understand that the public schools in some areas are beyond saving, but corporate charter schools will bring the corporate way of doing business into children's lives from the earliest ages. Public agencies ostensibly have some motivation for justice because they represent the interests of the community that funds them. Charter schools, on the other hand, represent the interest of the corporate office that is solely concerned about profits and keeping money rolling in. Justice is non-existent unless it serves some public relations or marketing stunt. That's simply what a corporation is and does.

People who want corporations to educate their children really need to think seriously about how corporations interact with the individual.

This is just a one sided story. We have no idea what really happened.

they could have responded in a way that acknowledged they are dealing with little kids, instead they sound like the coldest bureaucracy any adult might deal with:

"The authorities have completed their investigation, and the school has taken appropriate actions inline with our school policies concerning such matters."

I must have posted that little (ignored) detail about 1000 times over the years here.

Sometimes we get the whole story, most of the time we don't. Unless the parents give permission to the school, (and they usually don't for obvious reasons) we don't find out what REALLY happened.

statements about their general policies, which shouldn't allow for punishment in a case that is as the mother described.

That would settle the matter without breaking anyone's confidentiality -- assuming the mother is wrong.

I can't speak for the school district. You can't either but I'm sure that won't stop you.

:shrug:

for failing to immediately report another student's misbehavior. Such a statement wouldn't infringe on any confidentiality rights of any student.

But the school hasn't issued any such statement, which is very telling, IMO.

8 chaperones on a bus and they couldn't see or hear kids having sex in the back? Because they were too busy watching a movie? Brilliant. Really.

and high school events. Invariably, I am the only one checking bathroom stalls, back seats on busses, the open 2 liter bottles on the unmonitored snack tables, the parking lots, the curtained areas inside the venue, the "locked" classrooms near the venue, etc. I am a raging liberal and do not punish kids for being kids if I find them making out or smoking or engaging in normal teen behaviors, but I am watching out for danger, victimization, and bullying while the other adults are talking deeply about American Idol and how much they hate their boss. I often wonder what decade they think we are living in.

Keep your mouth shut because whistleblowers (snitches) are not tolerated in our society. (I'm not agreeing with the decision).

I understand their disappointment.

That was my thought too. :evilgrin:

I'm sure everyone involved feels completely embarrassed, especially now that it's in the news and being discussed on internet boards.

in front of her friends by the school. I think her mother probably called the press, but so what? Why would that make things worse for the daughter?

All her friends already knew what had happened, because the other two students know who turned them in -- and all they'd have to do is tell a couple other kids and the news would be all over school.

picnic, you don't think kids know why she can't go? Middle school is a small place if you don't remember... this information was out there and what it says to all kids is If you see something wrong going on, turn your back because you will surely be punished for speaking out.

Talk about the wrong damn message.

and try to imagine how it would feel to have your mom taking some trouble that happened at school to the media. Maybe some kids would like the attention, but many would be mortified. At least that's how I recall that time in my life. Then again, maybe it will be a good lesson against injustice for the kid.

who punished the girl in the first place?

It all seems so personal. To the point that it seems you are filling in details which aren't actually provided in the article

I think the whole thing is messed up. A very, very stupid punishment on the part of the school. Absolutely.

Don't you think it's possible that the daughter is mortified by having public attention on her affairs though? I mean, I have no way of knowing either way, but typically, teenagers don't often like when their parents draw undue attention to their personal and social lives.

it to the attention of the media myself.... assertive is something I have always been. Injustice is injustice and this girl is not at any fault here. Why the hell are we protecting the school on this one? They have clearly gone beyond whatever authority they think they have regarding mandatory reporting by students. At this point no student in that school will ever report another damn thing.

There was a similar ridiculous situation this week with a student in CT. The school didn't like the way he asked his date to the prom, so he was banned from the prom. Because of the outcry from all over the Country and even outside the Country, the decision was just today reversed. Something about 200K people on facebook standing up for these kids and calling on behalf of them had something to do with it as the decision was reaffirmed just two days ago. These school administrators feel they can wield any power they like and not be held accountable. Well, they are accountable. Administrators should always be held accountable, although they rarely are.

That situation was just as bad as this. All the boy had done was tape some CARDBOARD letters to an outside wall of the school -- nothing damaging. Even the town mayor was on TV yesterday saying that the District had overreacted. Glad to see they got tired of being ridiculed.

I hope she faces the music

in Washington state, was tired of all the mis-directed messages they were getting!

why is there a prom in the 8th grade?

When I went to school it was for juniors and seniors...

a little young for first sexual experience in the USA but not that far out of the ordinary.

at horrendously young ages.

:shrug:

Better that you "never saw it".