A Houston woman who became her younger brother’s guardian after their mother’s passing is speaking out against his school, claiming it isn’t doing enough to protect him from bullying.
Since starting middle school in December, she says the timid young boy has already been attacked twice—yet the school has suspended him instead of addressing the bullying.
Megan Harris, the boy’s sister, described his struggles in an interview with FOX 26 Houston, expressing frustration over how the school has handled the situation.
“My little brother is a timid little boy,” Harris said. “We had to teach him to defend himself. The fact that he’s gotten into two fights in two months is insane.”
She recalled an incident where another student approached her brother, and after a brief exchange, the student slapped him, leading her brother to defend himself.
Harris only learned about the incident when she arrived to pick him up—at which point she was informed he had been suspended for three days.
Community activist Candice Mathews criticized the school district for its lack of transparency, pointing out that Harris was not properly notified. She also slammed the school district for providing no incident reports or medical assessments before the boy was suspended.
“How can you bring a child to a car and say that the child is suspended without notifying the guardian?” Mathews asked. “Without having incident reports, without even having the child go to the nurse’s office to be assessed?”
Harris also accused the school of a Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) violation, saying that when she inquired about the incident, a school employee publicly stated she wasn’t the boy’s parent—despite her legal status as his guardian.
“That’s in his educational record, so why are you saying that out loud?” Mathews added, calling the school’s actions disturbing.
She also noted that Harris was denied access to video footage of the incident, an unusual move by the school.
Harris is now demanding action.
“I want my little brother to feel safe. I just want him to be okay,” she said.
The school district has not publicly responded to the allegations.
