TULSA, Okla. — A student at Memorial Middle School in Tulsa said he was jumped on the school bus for being transgender. His mom is demanding the eight students involved be arrested.
Diana Austin described the phone call she received from her 11-year-old son Levi on Monday.
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“He called me when it was happening. He screamed for help and said ‘mom, help me. They’re on me.’ You can hear all of this in the background,” Austin said.
Austin said Levi is transgender and came out this year. When doing so, she said Levi’s been bullied by one student out of the eight who jumped him, but didn’t know the other seven who jumped him while on the bus.
Austin also said that Levi was called homophobic slurs while being beaten. Levi sustained bruises and cuts over his nose and eyes. Austin said the bus driver had to pull over and call Campus Police.
According to Tulsa Public Schools, “Our school teams are committed to ensuring that our schools are safe and supportive places where young people can learn, grow, and thrive. We hold everyone in our community to the highest standards of behavior and have processes in place for responding to student behavioral issues. We ask for and expect our young people to treat each other with fairness, kindness, and respect.”
TPS goes on to say bus drivers are trained to respond to any incident that occurs on the bus by securing the bus in a safe location, assisting students, and contacting Campus Police.
The statement from TPS goes on to say, “students who are involved in altercations on our buses may have their ridership suspended for a period of time based on severity of the incident. Students may also face disciplinary action with their school based on the Behavior Response Plan.”
Austin said Levi is suspended for five days for fighting back while trying to get the eight kids off of him. Austin adds, she wants the eight kids to be arrested and get restraining orders.
She said Levi just wants to be accepted.
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You can read TPS’s full statement below:
Tulsa Public Schools has 33,211 students at 78 schools across our city. These young people are focused on learning, making friends, and building their skills as artists, musicians, athletes, writers, scientists, mathematicians, and future world-changing leaders. Our students are also navigating a rapidly changing world and learning to productively engage with others while managing their own emotions. This means that students can sometimes make poor decisions that result in disciplinary action.
Our school teams are committed to ensuring that our schools are safe and supportive places where young people can learn, grow, and thrive. We hold everyone in our community to the highest standards of behavior and have processes in place for responding to student behavioral issues. We ask for and expect our young people to treat each other with fairness, kindness, and respect.
While we cannot share information about specific students, we can share that our team members respond to behavioral issues swiftly and take appropriate follow up actions based on our Behavior Response Plan. When our Campus Police team is involved in incident response, our officers use a number of de-escalation techniques based on best practices for student and school safety. In very limited instances, to prevent others from getting injured, this may include the deployment of OC spray.
We have the same expectations for student behavior regardless of whether they are in the classroom or on the bus. Our bus drivers are trained to respond to any incident that occurs on a bus by securing the bus in a safe location, checking on and assisting students, and - as needed - contacting Campus Police for assistance. Students who are involved in altercations on our buses may have their ridership suspended for a period of time based on severity of the incident. Students may also face disciplinary action with their school based on the Behavior Response Plan.
Nothing is more important than ensuring that all of our students feel safe, secure, and supported. The most important way to help keep our students safe is for parents and family members to talk to their children about the importance of making smart and safe choices at school and on the bus. Parents can also encourage their children to follow their school classroom charters, which lay out procedures and action steps for having successful and safe interactions at school. We also encourage everyone in our community to report safety concerns to our safety hotline, which is staffed around-the-clock, by calling 918-480-SAFE, texting 480SAFE, or emailing share@tulsaschools.org.
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