Weeks of bullying a special needs 13 year-old girl at Jean McClung Middle School in the Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) turned to violence, within days from when a special needs 15 year-old boy was physically abused by school staff in Aldine ISD. Breitbart Texas reportedthat the incident left the mentally challenged teen with a broken leg and toe.
This latest bullying victim was identified as Jasmyne McCann. She was attacked by another student and sent to Cook Children’s Medical Center where she was placed under observation, CBS DFW reported on December 11.
McCann’s mother, Shelly Youngblood was horrified when her daughter came home from school and told her that another girl beat her up in the hallway, according to CBS DFW.
Youngblood went to the school on the day after the incident and spoke with the campus police officer. He told her what happened “wasn’t good.”
Previously, the officer had viewed surveillance video, according to Youngblood, who spoke with CBS DFW and said that the officer told her that the other girl was “pulling Jasmyne to the floor and then was kicking her and then getting on top of her and punching her.”
McCann was born with a brain abnormality that resulted in a learning disability, so the “blows” she took to the head were particularly scary for her mother, according to the news report.
Youngblood said she should not have to worry about her daughter’s well being. She stated, “When I sent her to school, she’s supposed to be safe.”
Much like the Aldine ISD special needs teen who subsequently suffered with “school phobia” and was frightened to return to school as a result of his injuries, McCann’s mother told CBS DFW that her 13 year-old didn’t want to leave the hospital because “she knows if she leaves, she has to go back to school.”
It was unclear when “if ever” the middle school girl would return to McClung Middle School.
The incident was confirmed by the school district in a statement; however, because juveniles were involved, they told the news outlet that they were prohibited from discussing the matter in detail. They indicated that these kinds of incidents are “investigated rapidly and dealt with appropriately.”
The Fort Worth ISD website states that the district prohibits bullying on school property, at school-sponsored or school-related activities, or in any vehicle operated by the district. They also define forms of bullying as verbal, written, electronic, or physical. The district provides instructions to report incidences of bullying.
According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, students with disabilities are much more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers. They indicate that bullying of children with disabilities is significant but there is very little research to document it.
Only 10 US studies have been conducted on the connection between bullying and developmental disabilities but all of these studies found that children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers.
One of the Center’s studies showed that 60 percent of students with disabilities reported being bullied regularly compared with 25 percent of allstudents.
Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom.
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