A sixth grader who alerted the principal after another student brought a bullet to class was suspended for not being "quick enough," his mother says.
The 11-year-old student at St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Virginia Beach reportedly saw the bullet in class right before they were about to begin mandatory testing. The boy waited about two hours until testing was over to go to the principal, as reported by WAVY-TV.
The boy's mother, Rachael Wigand, told the station the principal "said thank you for reporting that, but in the same breath you are suspended because it wasn't quick enough."
The reporting student and the student with the bullet both received a two-day suspension.
"If you punish a child for reporting, they are not going to report anymore," the family's attorney Tim Anderson told WAVY-TV. "It makes school more dangerous. She doesn't want that. I don't want that; nobody should want that."
Wigand tried to talk to the school about the suspension, but they refused to change their mind, as reported by NBC News. The 11-year-old served his suspension, and returned to school last week.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond told NBC News, "In a real emergency, gaps in reporting time may have major consequences for school safety. Our policies affirm this expectation, and we take our policy about timely and urgent reporting seriously. As with any disciplinary matter, we treat this as an opportunity for students to learn and move forward."
Wigand told WAVY-TV, "I think it is extremely harsh, and unjust and the most ludicrous decision to do that, to suspend the reporting person."
Anderson said he wants the boy's suspension removed from his record, and for the school to apologize. If not, the family may consider legal action.
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