A woman in Virginia claims her seventh-grade son was choked on a school bus by another student during an alleged bullying incident, leaving bruises and markings on his neck and face. The Jan. 23 violent altercation was caught on camera and brought to the notice of Fairfax County Public Schools authorities, but they did not do enough to protect the boy, according to the boy’s mother, Taylor Brock.
“They tried to downplay everything,” Brock told Fox News Digital. “They tried saying ‘We did everything that we could,’ and ‘We took the proper safety measures,’ but they didn’t.” “They didn’t tell the teachers. They didn’t put in a protective order, or make sure my son was safe. He was still seeing her in the hall and still seeing her in the cafeteria. They did nothing.”
Brock stated that she is transferring him to another school for his protection and that she has filed a police report with the Alexandria Police Department. As of Saturday afternoon, police had not responded to a request for comment, and the school system had made a statement to the media.
“The school administration handled the situation in line with the student discipline manual FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities,” Fairfax County Public Schools said. “We are unable to share further information due to federal privacy laws.” Brock shared the footage with Fox News Digital and posted it on her blog, Modma.net.
It shows a student taking her son’s backpack as other students laugh, and tensions swiftly rise when he tries to reclaim it. The other student grabs his face and puts her hands around his throat, pinning him against a window.
“This can’t just continue to be another story. There has to be changed,” Brock said. “I feel like the best way to make the change is to have preventative measures put in place, so they could teach the kids how to manage anger; overcome depression, stress, and peer pressure; and also realize that every child’s life is important.”
Brock also called for tougher punishments, particularly where physical violence is involved. “None of this ‘three strikes and you’re out’ kind of thing. They shouldn’t have two or three more times to hit my son before the school says that’s enough,” Brock said. She got a message from another student that implied revenge against the teen who choked her son, which she shared with Fox News Digital.
Brock reported the message to the school administration but stated that it is “perfect proof” of how students will take issues into their own hands if they do not believe the school district is doing enough to protect them. “If the children feel like the administration is not doing what they’re supposed to, what’s stopping them from trying to take it into their own hands?” Brock said.
“If this school isn’t listening to the students, what are they supposed to do? Of course, they’re going to be acting out with violence or committing suicide, because no one’s listening to them.”
In recent weeks, a New Jersey school district was shaken by school bullying when a group of students beats 14-year-old Adriana Kuch in the corridor of Central Regional High School, which was filmed and shared on social media. Kuch died of an apparent suicide a few days later, on Feb. 3, sending shockwaves through the town.
Tensions escalated Thursday night at the Central Regional school board meeting as hundreds of other children and their parents spoke out about bullying in the school system, which ranged from bigoted remarks to physical violence.