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Webster Groves, MO (KMOV) — A Webster Groves mother says she is fed up after her son was attacked twice by another student at Bristol Elementary.
Kristen Figge and her husband say they moved their 4th grader named Ben from a private school to Bristol Elementary, a school equipped to handle his learning disability.
“Everything was going fine until early November, late December,” said Figge.
Figge said she got a call two months ago saying there was incident involving her son but it wasn’t until he got home that she learned he was assaulted by another student.
“He had marks on his stomach and bruises on his neck,” she said.
Frustrated, she says she met with the principal who assured a protection plan was in place to prevent another attack.
“That child who assaulted him would have 24/7 hands and eyes on him,” she said.
Just two weeks ago, Figge says she got another call from the school saying her child was assaulted again by the same student, this time in the bathroom.
“Left him with bruises on his body, abrasions on the side of his face, knot on the back of his head and we’ve since learned that he has concussion,” Figge said.
She said her son fears there could be a third attack. She’s kept him home for seven says as she waits for answers from the Webster Groves School District.
“No one will accept responsibility for this. We have not been given an acceptable protection plan for our son,” said Figge, adding she is looking at other options for her son.
Both Webster Groves and the Special School District released statements about the situation:
Special School District:
“SSD is committed to the safety and security of all students, and takes any concerns about student safety very seriously. For confidentiality reasons, the District is prohibited from discussing specific students or student matters. However, in general, if a student safety concern is brought to our attention, the District immediately investigates the concern and how best to address the concern. A safety plan is then developed and put in place.”
Webster Groves School District:
“The Webster Groves School District always strives to work with families and staff to ensure that our students have a welcoming environment that is conducive to learning. Student safety is our highest priority. We respond promptly and investigate all incidents involving student safety. Because of confidentiality regulations, we do not comment on student discipline matters.”
According to Webster Groves School District policy, a first offense results in a detention or suspension. Any subsequent offense warrants a suspension for more than 10 days or expulsion.
The district later sent out a statement on its disciplinary policy:
“WGSD recognizes that age and degree of maturity of students affect the degree of their responsibility and accordingly should affect the consequences of their acts. It also recognizes that it cannot in this policy describe each and every breach of conduct that will necessitate disciplinary action and the consequence for such breach… It therefore determines that said consequences for elementary school students need not be the same as those for secondary school students.”
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