Tony Duckett says his son was punished at North Murray High School for defending himself from a bully.
Duckett wants the school system to change its policies so that victims can’t be punished for self-defense.
Duckett said his son was assaulted twice in the past month on the campus of the school — once when a boy kicked him in the chest while he was waiting for a ride home and again when a student who habitually cut the lunch line began pummeling him after being told to wait his turn.
For the second incident, he said his son got two days of in-school suspension because he “put his hand out” to prevent the line-cutter from getting in front of him again. Duckett said his son sustained a busted lip, busted nose, severely bent glasses, a knot on the back of his head and an injured ear.
“In the school system, these kids don’t have the right to defend themselves,” he said.
State law requires school systems to have policies that provide for punishing bullies and mandate that they are placed in an alternative school after the third offense. Whitfield County Schools, Dalton Public Schools and Murray County Schools each have policies to that effect. All three systems provide for escalated punishments, ranging from in-school suspension authorized by an administrator to expulsion at the direction of a tribunal.
The handbooks in each of the three systems provide for separate punishments for fighting and verbal offenses, some of which could also be considered bullying. The Whitfield system’s policy does not specifically protect students acting in self-defense from punishment, but administrators in many cases have discretion in determining how to handle violent incidents. The Dalton system’s policy specifically provides that students acting in self-defense aren’t to be punished. There is no such provision in the policies of the Murray school system.
Murray County Schools administrative services director Dean Donehoo said students are often punished for fights they didn’t start at the discretion of a school administrator. Some students might, for example, respond in an overly violent way to someone throwing a punch even though they didn’t start the fight.
“The thought is that often it’s hard to figure out what happened,” Donehoo said. “It’s on a case by case basis.”
By law, school officials can’t comment on a student’s situation, Donehoo said. Duckett said he believes school administrators should have done a better job investigating the incident in which his son was punished. He said the administrator who notified him about the lunchroom incident indicated his son had sustained nothing more than a single punch in the nose.
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Policies on bullying, other infractions
Dalton Public Schools, http://daltonpublicschools.com/Portals/0/PDF/Code%20of%20Conduct_English_2009-10.pdf
Murray County Schools, http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/handbooks/Handbook.htm
Whitfield County Schools, www.whitfield.k12.ga.us, under “Important documents”
Education
Part III: Bullying in schools
- Education
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Dalton schools budget draws almost $2 million from reserves
Dalton School Superintendent Jim Hawkins, left, speaks as board of education members Danny Crutchfield and Rick Fromm listen during a six-hour board meeting retreat. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen
Dalton Public Schools Superintendent Jim Hawkins said he’s no longer expecting a big economic bounce back to solve the school system’s budget concerns.
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Northwest students place high, take tech to next level
Several Northwest Whitfield High School students placed high in the Sequoyah Regional Georgia Educational Technology Fair.
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Dalton student on GPS May Court
Christian Bryant of Dalton has been elected to the May Court at Girls Preparatory School and will serve as crown bearer to the May Queen during the May Day festivities in April.
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Northwest Whitfield High School Sweetheart Court
Northwest Whitfield High School's Tip Off Club hosted the 2012 Sweetheart Dance at the school recently.
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Art student’s work on exhibition
Gary Sanchez Soto will represent Murray County High School in “An Artistic Discovery: The Congressional Art Competition” at the Derrell C. Roberts Library on the campus of Dalton State College.
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Professor to speak on the Oscars during 'Lunch & Learn' program
Jonathan Lampley, assistant professor of English at Dalton State, will present “The Oscars: Winners, Losers, and Weird Moments” in the College’s James E. Brown Center, room 105, on Feb. 15 from noon to 1 p.m.
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Local high schools recognized for AP classes, exams
State School Superintendent John Barge named several local high schools as Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools.
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The Perfect Polish
Cosmetology and Skills U.S.A. at North Murray High School recently sponsored a community service project in which Donna Blankenship’s students gave manicures to the residents of the Murray County Senior Center.
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MCHS accepts letterman's jacket
James “William” Butler’s family presented his letterman’s jacket to Murray County High School Principal Gina Linder during halftime of a varsity boys’ basketball game recently. The jacket, which has a “1962 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP” patch on it, will be displayed in the school’s trophy case. Presenting the jacket to Linder were Butler’s nieces, Chloe Brown and Ashley Strong; his wife, Patsy Butler; his daughter, Robin Baggett; and his grandchildren, Jaden and Janna Baggett.
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Mountain Creek Academy honors December teacher of the month
English teacher Jennifer Weninger (center) was selected by her peers as December’s Teacher of the Month at Mountain Creek Academy. Principal Paula Martin (right) and Curriculum Instructor Facilitator/Counselor Jennifer Lents presented her with the award.
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Mountain Creek Academy honors December staff of the month
Mountain Creek Academy Lisa Sanford, center, accepts a certificate from Principal Paula Martin and Counselor Jennifer Lents (left) as she is recognized with a December Staff of the Month award. Sanford has worked at Mountain Creek for 12 years.
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Med students visit Murray High
In December, students from Murray County High School and North Murray High School were invited to meet with fourth-year medical students Allen Ligon of Augusta and Heath Petty, an MCHS graduate.
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Gladden honors December student of the month
Joey Ecklebarger is the December 2011 Gladden Middle School Student of the Month. Joey is motivated and puts forth great effort in all classes. His behavior and attitude towards school, other students and teachers is also outstanding. Sean Hammond, Joey’s social studies teacher says of Joey, “He is great to have on our team.”
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Coker honors students for Week 14 good behavior
As part of Coker Elementary School’s PBIS or Positive Behavioral and Interventions Support system, students that follow the school expectations are recognized each week for their Great Behavior.
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Gladden students use Facebook in lessons
Gladden Middle School eighth-grader Shaley Stafford shows her Facebook page model on the book “Alice in Wonderland.” Eighth grade reading teacher Keith Rollins had his students choose a book from the library to do a book report on. However, this was not an ordinary book report. After the students read their book, they were to do their report by making a Facebook page about their book.
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