A mother says it openly: It's about more than just bullying and harassment incidents | Local news

{KXLG – Henry, SD} On Monday, Rachel Livingston heard shocking stories from her son, Hoyt, that no parent wants to hear. She describes how several boys were “brutally attacked.” For Rachel, this was more than just bullying or hazing.

Rachel told KXLG News her story…

She says this has been happening for some time now…

According to Rachel's son, this happened almost every day on both trips. He wanted to quit football, but they encouraged him to stick it out for the season, not knowing the real reason.

Then Monday came and she heard all the stories about the numerous incidents…

Rachel talks about the fear her son must have felt…

The boys had no choice but to follow the orders of the “Senior Boys,” and the only adult, a 20-year-old bus driver and assistant coach, was reportedly no help in this…

According to her son, there were between 12 and 15 boys on the bus. Rachel told us that the bus driver was fired.

Rachel said the school, students and coaches at Florence had nothing to do with these incidents. The Florence District has checked in with the families and has scheduled a special school board meeting for Monday, September 23, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. in the Florence Music Room to discuss recent events and policies to ensure a positive environment for our students and staff.

Apparently, one of the senior's parents contacted the parents of one of the boys and asked them to stop spreading lies about their child or they would take legal action. Now that all of these incidents have become public, KXLG News asked Rachel if her son is going back to school…

Because the students are all minors, the disciplinary actions are not shared with the public or other parents. What surprised Rachel was that none of the other children who witnessed the incidents stood up for the boys. She said that just today he was dealing with his own “friends” who were harassing him, calling him a liar and telling him to stop.

Rachel saw many comments on social media that she had to respond to…

Rachel says she and the parents are pursuing all legal options and are open to any lawyer who wants to help them. She says it's like they're grasping at straws, but no one is giving up.

Below you will find various websites for research on the topic of bullying:

Bullying Resource Center (aacap.org)

My child is being bullied | Bullying resources for parents (stompoutbullying.org)

National Association Against Bullying – NAPAB