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School sues parents over damage caused by child

SALEM, Ore. — A Salem, Oregon school district is taking parents of a student to court to have them pay for the thousands of dollars worth of damage he caused to a classroom.

Oregon Live reported that a student, who was 12 years old at the time, broke into a science classroom after school and poured hydrochloric acid in the room. He also poured sulfuric acid, iodine and food coloring in room 106, damaging floors, desks and computers, The Statesman Journal reported.  He allegedly caused about $19,000 worth of damage. School officials said it happened in June 2016.

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Salem-Keizer Public Schools is suing not only the student's parents, but also the student himself, to recoup some of the money to repair the damages.

The district said in the suit that the mother and the boy's stepfather failed to "exercise reasonable control" over the boy. The school said the boy had a dozen disciplinary cases over eight months while he was a student at Crossler Middle School. He had two issues that were described as behavioral episodes that needed calls home, Oregon Live reported.

There is a law on the books in Oregon that says that parents are liable for property damage done by their children, but the law limits the amount parents are held liable for to $7,500 or less than half than the total cost of the damage.  But there is no cap for students, so he could be forced to pay more than $11,000, The Statesman Journal reported.