SAN ANTONIO – A Northside Independent School District parent is calling for accountability from school and district officials after her son was allegedly assaulted in a school locker room by another student.
The assault allegedly happened in September at Briscoe Middle School, located on the far West Side near Alamo Ranch.
Frances Cortez, the boy’s mother, said the assault left her son hospitalized for two days.
According to a hospital discharge report, her son suffered a concussion, bruises, two seizures and damage to his prosthetic eye, which she said will cost $7,000 to replace.
She told KSAT that they will have to travel to Houston to get the procedure done, adding it’s frustrating since it was just two years ago when her son had to get one.
While her son has nearly recovered, Cortez said she is seeking answers about her son’s alleged aggressor, who she said received minimal punishment for his actions.
“They just told me he was going to be suspended for two days and that was it,” Cortez said. “After this happened on a Thursday, the student was back on school and campus on Monday.”
She said it was upsetting because she felt her son’s safety was at risk, and all the school did was move the alleged aggressor to a different class.
Cortez told KSAT she called the school to question their decision and was told the student needed to not miss school and learn, which she felt wasn’t fair because her son had to miss a week of education due to his injuries.
NISD spokesperson Barry Perez declined to provide specifics on the alleged assault and the punishment but referenced the district’s student code of conduct regarding school discipline.
He said an “appropriate punishment” was given and administration, NISD police and the district office completed an investigation, which stated “both students engaged in physical contact with each other.”
After hearing this, Cortez told KSAT she was surprised and upset because the principal told her that her son wasn’t at fault on the day of the alleged assault.
“After all the witnesses, I have letters from parents that they sent me where my son was not at fault,” she said. “Even my son told me, he’s like, ‘Mom, I didn’t want to touch him back because I didn’t want to get in trouble at home or at school.’ So he didn’t self-defense himself at all. He was literally just laying there, letting that other kid beat him up.”
For now, Cortez can only hope her son remains safe.
She told KSAT it’s difficult mentally and emotionally for her to hear her son say how scared he is to go to school daily and wishes she could have been there for him during the alleged assault.
She added she will continue to push for accountability and is considering legal action against the school, which she believes failed her son.
“He tells me every day, ‘Mom, I don’t feel safe at school,’ and the school, I mean, all the school is offering me is to change some schools,” she said. “I don’t want that. I mean he don’t want that, all his friends are there. Why is this student at that campus?”
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