Mom Of Bullied Teen Says School Didn't Help
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bullied and beaten in his high school classroom.
The attack posted on social media.
That's what a freshman with autism endured, targeted by two other students with special needs.
His mother says the school didn't do enough to help.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
With tears streaming down his face, Roshawn Bolling says his freshman year at Proviso West High School was painful.
He says he was afraid to go to school.
"I just felt helpless," says Bolling.
His mom, who says her son has autism, was bullied since the start of the school year.
Mostly by two other special needs students.
"They were calling him 'slow' or 'special ed.'" she says.
In February, one of those boys walked into Roshawn's classroom, refused to leave, and punched him.
Another student shot it on his phone and put it on Snapchat.
It happened five months after Sheretta Bolling says she began reporting the bullying, which included social media taunts and threats to Proviso West administration.
There were calls, visits and even more emails to administrators, telling them "I just don't want Roshawn to be in fear at school."
"It was addressed from the very beginning," says Shertta. "And it feels like it was just swept under the rug."
In emails, the school took some steps to intervene but never separated the alleged bullies from Roshawn, which Sheretta says she requested.
Regarding the attack, a District 209 spokesperson says it was addressed "by administering the appropriate disciplinary measures."
But Bolling had enough and pulled Roshawn out.
"It's unacceptable and I pray going forward that they would take these matters more seriously," she says.
Roshawn started classes at a new school on Wednesday.
His mother says she wanted charges to be filed.
But Hillside's Police Chief Joseph Lukaszek says because those involved are juveniles with no priors and because it happened at school, Proviso West would handle the discipline.
