Almost two weeks ago, I wrote about on the school bus bullying of Karen Klein, the 68-year-old grandmother who was bullied unto tears by a pack of Rochester 7th graders. A video of the abuse went viral, landed both Klein and one of the abuser’s fathers on AC360, and led to an online donation campaign meant to provide Ms. Klein with a much-needed vacation. (The campaign has raised north of $640,000 and counting — Klein says she’ll use the money to “pay some bills” and donate to a Down’s syndrome charity.)
The Rochester school district has now doled out its punishment to Klein’s abusers: One year suspension and 50 hours of community service.
Following individual meetings this week with school and district administrators, each family waived their right to a hearing and agreed to one-year suspensions from school and regular bus transportation,” the Greece Central School District said in a statement.
The students will be transferred to a special alternative education program because the district is legally required to give them an education. Each student also will be required to complete 50 hours of community service with senior citizens. They will be able to reapply to middle school after they complete the discipline. In a statement, the school system said each of the students involved admitted wrongdoing, accepted the consequences and agreed to let the district publicly release the terms of their disciplinary action.
Repeat: The offending 7th graders will be forced to perform community service with senior citizens. Hopefully, the experience will prove enlightening for the boys.
My earlier post with the viral video can be found here.