Inside school discipline decisions after bathroom harassment case
By Pamela Comme
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A student accused of photographing a 12-year-old boy with autism inside a school bathroom was suspended for three days, according to a DeLand police affidavit.
The boy’s father says that punishment is not enough.
On Thursday, the district provided WESH 2 with a new statement. While the school district declined to confirm or deny any disciplinary action, it said in multiple emails that it is “prohibited from sharing student education records or individually identifiable disciplinary information.”
The district did dispute the three-day suspension referenced in the police report, which was written by a school resource officer. In an email, a district spokesperson said:
“The Volusia County School District takes all disciplinary matters seriously and addresses each situation thoroughly and equitably through our established progressive discipline process. The safety and well-being of all students is our district’s number one priority.
“We must also clarify that the characterization of another student’s disciplinary consequences is not accurate. A parent would not have access to another student’s disciplinary record, and any claims regarding what consequences another student did or did not receive would not be information available to them.
“We remain committed to a fair and consistent process for every student and will not allow that process to be misrepresented.”
According to the affidavit, the child was followed into a school bathroom by other students, harassed, and photographed while inside a stall as he was pulling up his pants.
The father says the incident has left his son afraid to return to school and believes the student responsible should have been expelled.
“Here’s my son now not able to have the education that he deserves. But your kids still get to do it,” he said.
WESH 2 submitted a public records request for additional details on the case and disciplinary action, but that request was denied, with the district citing exemptions under Florida law.
To better understand how discipline is determined, WESH 2 reviewed the Volusia County district’s student code of conduct and discipline.
Offenses are categorized by severity, ranging from Level 1 for minor violations to Level 4 for the most serious offenses, such as battery, firearms on campus and robbery.
The district says video voyeurism, the charge in this case, is considered a Level 3, or “major,” offense.
For a first offense, discipline can include a required parent-teacher conference, a one to three-day suspension, and other corrective actions.
However, the district also explains that, depending on the circumstances, video voyeurism can be elevated to a Level 4 offense, which may include expulsion.
The district says that determination is made at the school level, with the principal exercising discretion.
WESH 2 also heard from the State Attorney’s Office on Thursday after the case was handed off to them. In a statement, a public information officer said: “Juvenile case records are confidential under Florida Statutes 985.04.”
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