SUNSET, La. (KLFY) -- A mother in Sunset is speaking out after her daughter was physically harmed by a fellow student at Sunset Middle School, raising concerns about the school's handling of bullying incidents.

Keioshia Charles, the mother of London Charles posted about the incident on social media. 

She said she received a call on Sept. 18, Thursday morning, informing her that her daughter had been involved in an incident where she was hit in the eye, causing swelling. Despite her daughter's previous reports of bullying, Keioshia feels the school failed to take appropriate action.

"You send your kids to school to be safe," said Keioshia. "I feel like they didn't take it seriously enough."

Keioshia says the day before her daughter was hit in the eye, there was an incident where she was hit in the back. She believes actions should have been taken in this incident as well.

Shauna Sias, a child advocate, and founder of the Bullying Box Passion Project criticized the school's lack of adherence to bullying laws.

Keioshia described the moment she arrived at the school and saw her daughter with an ice bag on her face, expressing her shock and concern over the situation. She questioned why the school did not contact emergency services immediately after the incident.

Keioshia emphasized that her daughter had been reporting bullying since Aug. 28, but felt that the school ignored these reports. 

“I feel like the first day the incident happened, if it would have been addressed how it was supposed to it would've never got to this day," Keioshia said. "She was safe enough to even speak up. To tell someone that she was getting bullied, that someone was picking on her, and they failed my baby. They didn't do what they were supposed to. They didn't report it. I didn't even know about it. I didn't find out. She told someone that she was getting bullied until the incident happened. That's when she said that she constantly was reporting to people, to teachers and no one was doing anything about it.”

She urged other parents to seek help and not rely solely on the school to address bullying issues.

“To London, she's brave because, I mean, I don't see it often," she said. "You know, kids get bullied and they just throw it under the rug. They just think it's okay, but she stepped up and I just want her to know that she has a team behind her. I want her to go back to school. I want her chin up, chested out.”

London expressed her dissatisfaction with how the school handled the situation, stating that she expected them to report the bullying, but they did not.

Sias highlighted the importance of documentation and following proper procedures when a child reports bullying, suggesting that the school's failure to do so contributed to the incident.

The incident has raised concerns about the school's handling of bullying reports and the need for better supervision and adherence to bullying laws. Keioshia hopes her daughter's bravery in speaking up will inspire other students to do the same.

The St. Landry Parish Superintendent said the school is investigating the bullying incident. Keioshia said the student was suspended and there will be a speciation order in place but feels more needs to be done.

She has pressed charges with the Sunset Police Department. You can view the schools’ policy against bullying here. 

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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