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Parent says son suspended after being struck; asks board for review and refund
Summary
A Fairview Middle School parent told the board her son was suspended after an unprovoked assault and asked the district to review the case and refund a field-trip payment she says was withheld.
Kimmy Johnson, who identified herself as the mother of an eighth-grade student at Fairview Middle School, told the Leon County School Board during public comment that her son was struck by another student on April 10 after refusing to fight and that the district suspended her son for defending himself.
"The school's own investigation confirmed that my son was not the aggressor," Johnson said. She said the student had no prior disciplinary history, was suspended three days and removed from an eighth-grade field trip. Johnson said the district refunded $103 of a $265 fee and that efforts to get a response from administrators and the superintendent's office had not produced a reply. "No response, not a single call, not a single email," she said.
Johnson asked the board to review the school's handling of the incident, issue a full refund of the field trip fee, and "reevaluate policies that penalize students for defending themselves," arguing that the family had followed the district’s complaint protocols. She also requested more timely and respectful responses to parental concerns.
Board members and the superintendent responded during the meeting. The superintendent told students and parents in the audience he would visit the school named in the public comment (referred to in the meeting as "Sale") the following day during lunch to meet with students and said he would bring pizza to facilitate a conversation. Several students and parents who spoke after Johnson — Isabella Orfern Leedy and Patricia Leedy, who identified themselves as students/parents at the same address — thanked the superintendent for promising to meet with students and offered to follow up privately.
The board did not take an immediate formal action on the case during the meeting; Johnson asked the board to review the specific student discipline decision and to use discretionary funds to refund the family if appropriate.
Ending: The superintendent committed to meet students at the named school during lunch the following day for a follow-up conversation; Johnson asked the board to review her son's case and consider a full refund.
