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Mother sues middle school teacher over bullying in her son's classroom

CHESTERFIELD, S.C. — Ashley Garrison told Channel 9 that her sixth-grade son was struck in the back of his head and in the face while in class last month at New Heights Middle School in Jefferson.

“My biggest thing is just, I want the school to do something. The teacher just stood there and watched it,” Garrison said.

Garrison said the teacher saw the fight, but only said “stop” and didn’t call the principal or school resource officers to intervene.

“She never once tried to break it up. She didn’t call for help. She didn’t get anything done,” Garrison said.

There is cellphone video of the incident taken by other students. Channel 9 chose not to show it because it identifies more than a dozen students in the classroom.

In the video, the child is seen being struck at least once, and the teacher is yelling, “Stop it!”

Garrison filed a personal injury lawsuit Friday, naming the Chesterfield County School District and the sixth-grade teacher, Barbara Morgan, as defendants.

The lawsuit claims the teacher, "knowingly allowed another student to assault and/or battery the minor plaintiff while under her supervision, and as a result of her actions, the minor plaintiff sustained injuries to his head and face."

[READ: Lawsuit Against Chesterfield Co. Teacher and School District]

Garrison made a claim against the school district saying, "The defendant school district was negligent in...failing to properly train employees on the proper discipline procedures for students… and didn't provide for the safety of its students."

Channel 9 reached out to the Chesterfield County School District for comment on Tuesday morning. A school spokesman said the district cannot comment on litigation.

Garrison said she’s afraid of situations like this escalating.

“You see all this stuff going on with the Florida shootings and stuff like that. I don’t want it to get to that point,” Garrison said.

According to Garrison, the two students involved in the assault were suspended and her son was not.

She is suing for compensatory damages from the school district and punitive damages from the teacher.

There was no specific dollar amount demanded in the lawsuit and a jury trial was requested.

Garrison has hired the law firm of M.W. Cockrell of Chesterfield to handle the case.

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