A Waco, Texas family has filed suit against the Live Oak Classical School following an incident of bullying that occurred during a field trip. The event involved a 12-year-old black girl and three white boys. The girl was playing on a rope swing when she realized the rope was around her neck. The boys suddenly pulled on the rope, which knocked the girl off the swing and caused her to be dragged for several feet.
Sandy Rougely, the mother of the unnamed girl, said it looked as though her daughter’s neck had been taken apart and sewn back together. Rougley was angry that her daughter did not receive medical treatment for her injuries, and she was not told of the incident until her daughter came home from the trip. She added that the boys involved had a history of bullying her daughter.
Allison Buras, a dean for the school, downplayed the incident and took a “boys will be boys” stance. Buras said the boys were looking for fun and sport and pushed the back of the girl’s leg to get her off the swing. The dean added that such events rarely happen out of meanness.
Levi McCathern, the attorney representing the girl’s family, said the lawsuit is asking for $3 million for emotional distress and negligence. He also said the school had a responsibility to protect the girl and inform her mother that she had been injured. An attorney for the school said he would not make a statement until an independent investigation of the incident was complete.
The girl has since been removed from the school by her mother.