Local Mom says son was bullied, now looking to HOPE scholarship

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cassandra Scott’s son, Leo, is a second-grader at Highland Elementary school. Leo said he dreads going to class, but not for the reason you may think.

“Hit. Pushed. He was jumped. He’s come home with busted lips… gum in the hair,“ Scott said. “He left claw marks on his throat.”

Scott gave Action News Jax a document from the school signed by the assistant principal. It said an incident may have occurred. In the letter, an incident is defined as a number of things, including, threats, hazing, intimidation and bullying.

The school said it cannot comment on the specific case. Scott said the school removed the alleged bully from her son’s classroom, but the bullying outside the classroom continues.

“The only answer they’re giving me is move your child out of school,“ Scott said.

She is in the process of applying for the Hope Scholarship, which takes a public school student who experienced some type of bullying and puts them in a private school. It also allows the student to transfer to another public school. Patrick Gibbons, public Affairs manager at Step Up For Students, said roughly 7,500 people have started the application, but only 797 have completed it.

“We are not sure why so few complete the applications,” Gibbons said. “All the incomplete applications do not have the IEPC-HS1 form and it could be because their public school never gave them one. It could be the parent changed their mind about the scholarship, that they decided the public option was best or simply applied for the wrong scholarship program.”

The form can be found on the FLDOE’s Office of School Choice website.

“Some parents have told us they’ve resorted to lawyers writing a letter, with the form enclosed, to encourage the principal to sign the form,” Gibbons said.

Below is the breakdown, by county, of the number of kids enrolled in private schools via the Hope Scholarship. We’ve put in a request to the school district for the number of students who use Hope to transfer to another public school. We’re waiting to hear back.

County Funded Students

1. Orange: 40
2. Hillsborough: 33
3. Seminole: 22
4. Broward: 22
5. Volusia: 22
6. Pasco: 21
7. Marion: 19
8. Palm Beach: 18
9. Duval: 15
10. Pinellas: 14
11. Brevard: 13
12. Polk: 12
13. Leon: 11
14. Lake: 9
15. Alachua: 9
16. Dade: 8
17. Santa Rosa: 8
18. Flagler7
19. St. Johns: 6
20. Suwannee: 5
21. Escambia: 5
22. Osceola: 4
23. Wakulla: 3
24. Hernando: 3
25. St. Lucie: 3
26. Lee: 3
27. Clay: 3
28. Putnam: 2
29. Okaloosa: 2
30. Sumter: 2
31. Martin: 2
32. Manatee: 2
33. Bay: 1
34. Charlotte: 1
35. Gilchrist: 1
36. Baker: 1
37. Indian River: 1

Grand Total: 353

According to Step Up For Kids, to be eligible for the scholarship, an incident of bullying must be included in the of the application, which has to have been reported to the school’s authorities. The school has 15 days to investigate and provide the parents with the appropriate form.

Scott said the process has felt complicated for her family.

“They have something to help you, but you got to jump through all these hurdles to get it,” Scott said.

Action News Jax reporter Meghan Moriarty helped Scott get some of the paperwork she needs and put her in direct contact with someone from the foundation.

“At least with what you sent me, it’s like, OK, this is how I go about it,” Scott said.

The school provided us with the below statement:

“Although I am unable to go into specifics about this parents situation, as it would violate state privacy statues, I can tell you that the parent has been given two HOPE Scholarship Letters of Eligibility, one in October 2019 and one in January 2020. The school is taking the parents’ concerns seriously, and has met with the parent on multiple occasions to address her concerns, including speaking with the parent this week. School administration will reach out to the parent again to ensure that she is aware of the next steps in the process.

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