(Hernando, MS) A Hernando mother said her daughter was teased and attacked online by another student.
Meghan Riley said her daughter told the school counselor five times about the bullying, but nothing was done.
Riley said the name-calling started when her daughter was a seventh-grader at Hernando Middle.
“She was called fake Barbie. The b-word. It was mostly in person,” said Riley.
For the last nine months, Riley said another female student bullied her daughter through text messages, online, and at school.
“She can’t even go to the restroom after lunch, because she’ll be in there with her friends to gang up on [her],” said Riley.
Riley said she found out about the bullying when her daughter broke down recently. She was afraid it wouldn’t stop.
“You hear children that commit suicide. That cut themselves. That do all types of things. You feel like the bully pushes them enough where they hurt themselves,” said Riley.
In a written statement, DeSoto County Schools said, “While Mrs. Riley would like to have this matter ‘tried by the media,’ the school district has a duty to protect the educational information of all students and cannot participate.
“We understand the mother’s concerns. We have addressed them according to our
anti-bullying policies.”
The school could not tell News Channel 3 what disciplinary actions it took.
Riley wants a change to the policy. She said it shouldn’t take nine months for something to be done.
“Maybe if we had a quicker response, maybe it will get a little better,” said Riley.
DeSoto County Schools has a link on their website where students can anonymously report bullying. Riley said she did use it.
