Lawsuit Alleges Attack On School Bus

BROOKSVILLE - A mother is suing the Hernando County School Board on behalf of her autistic son, claiming the district did nothing to protect him from attack on his school bus.

The lawsuit also contains a renewed attempt to garner a court order to unseal the student records of her son's alleged assailants. Those records will contain any disciplinary measures taken against the three culprits following the attack on April 19, 2006, according to the lawsuit. It's alleged that on that day, Hipp's son, who was 13 at the time, was "slapped, hit in the head and chest, and had items thrown at him" while in route to West Hernando Middle School. The lawsuit adds that this was not the first attack.

It was the responsibility of the bus driver, and the school district, to intervene, but nothing was done to stop the behavior, according to the lawsuit.

That's the grounds for the first count of negligence.

Following the attack, Hipp launched a series of legal requests for documents pertaining to the incident. The district released the victim's file, but wouldn't produce the other students' records.

Hipp next filed a pure bill of discovery, a precursor to a lawsuit that can uncover certain elements of a potentially litigious situation. That bill was dismissed by a judge in April 2007.

She followed up in October with another written request for the documents, but school Superintendent Wayne Alexander and the school board "completely failed" to respond, the lawsuit states. Now the lawsuit seeks to compel the district to turn over any documents related to the incident, including video recorded on the school bus that day.

It also asks the district to admit damages in excess of $10 million. Hipp's attorney, Joshua Burnett, didn't want to comment on a pending case. The school district's attorney, Paul Carland, was unavailable for comment.