During a recent class trip to Washington, D.C., two eighth graders from a Dayton, Ohio charter school had sex in the back of the bus. They’ve been suspended, but a mom says her daughter is also being punished because she didn’t immediately report what her classmates were doing.
When she got home, the girl told her mother what happened, and Roundtree reported it to school officials. In response, she got a letter from Dayton View Academy saying her daughter wouldn’t be allowed to attend the eighth grade prom and class picnic. Roundtree says:
“They punished my daughter – who did the right thing by telling what she saw – but did nothing to the eight chaperones who were sitting in the front of the bus at the time and should have been monitoring the kids … If they are not doing anything to the chaperones, how can they punish my daughter?”
School officials have a different version of events, though they aren’t being very specific. The letter Roundtree showed reporters from the local station WDTN doesn’t say exactly why the girl was banned from class events. Administrators say the girl isn’t in trouble for hesitating to report the incident, but they won’t disclose any more details because minors are involved. Dick Penry, president of the school’s governing board, said:
“She is being disciplined for another part of the problem, which we can’t go into. So, the three kids that were disciplined, from my vantage point, they were handled appropriately by Amy Doreman and the school administration.”
Part of this story doesn’t make sense; Roundtree seems to have no idea what this other “part of the problem” is, but presumably the school would tell a 14-year-old’s parent exactly what rules she broke. Whatever it is, it should come out soon enough: Police and child services are investigating the incident, and Roundtree has contacted a lawyer.
Ohio Mom: School Punishing Girl Who Reported Classmates Had Sex On Bus Trip, Changed Seats [AP]
A Fallout From Sex On A School Field Trip [WDTN]
Image via Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.
