The parents of a Bulloch County child are suing the school system, the Board of Education, the Superintendent, a principal, and other individuals after an incident on a school bus in 2024 that ended with a student jumping out an emergency door.
The lawsuit filed in Bulloch County Superior Court by the attorney for the family, Chris Gohagan of Taulbee Rushing, says the named parties failed to address concerns about bullying brought forward by the parents and did not follow the discipline policies outlined in the Student Code of Conduct. Additionally, the suit alleges that the school system failed to adhere to a specialized plan developed for the student, which could have prevented the February 2024 incident from happening.
In addition to the school system, the Board of Education, Superintendent Charles Wilson, and Langston Chapel Middle School principal Willie Robinson, the suit also names Chairman of the BOE Elizabeth Williams, and four John Does who, according to the suit, are employees and/or contractors with the Bulloch County School System who were responsible for safe transportation and the operation of school buses.
Background According to the Suit
On February 29, 2024, the 13-year-old Langston Chapel Middle School student was a passenger on a Bulloch County Schools (BCS) school bus when he jumped out of the emergency door while the bus was in motion “in an attempt to flee ongoing and continuous bullying.” He was injured as a result.
The suit alleges that the student had been “continuously bullied by other BCS students for over one (1) years without any productive solution from BCS…The torment…included both physical and verbal assaults of the intimidating and demeaning nature.”
Among the incidents listed in the suit:
The student was stabbed with a pencil by another student during his 6th grade year, resulting in a permanent scar
Early in the school year in which the bus incident occurred, on September 18, 2023, the student attempted to jump out of the emergency window of his BCS bus to escape bullying from other students.
On February 7, 2024, a few weeks before the suit-inducing incident, an incident occurred while the student was walking to the cafeteria, resulting in the student’s absence from school for two weeks.
The Bulloch County School system had implemented an Individual Education Program (IEP) for the student just one week prior after a meeting with the parents and administrators. The result of the meeting was a determination that the student would be provided with ‘transportation support from transportation personnel to and from school,’ effective immediately, but the bullying continued, the suit alleges.
Basis for Lawsuit
“Though [the parents of the student] addressed these incidents several times to BCS school administrators, [the student] continued to experience ongoing bullying with no response from Defendants to lessen the risks to which the student was routinely exposed,” the suit reads.
Specifically, the suit alleges that the Bulloch County School System, and others:
Failed to carry out the policy requiring an escalating system of discipline for students engaged in bullying.
Failed to adhere to the IEP developed and implemented by Bulloch County Schools requiring the student to ride a BCS bus each morning and to sit in the front row under the supervision of a BCS employee specifically assigned to him.
Are liable for the negligent operation of use of the BCS bus because they engaged in misconduct (though the specifics were not outlined in the initial complaint)
Failed to perform their duties, each of whom had a duty to oversee the operation of the bus and to enforce school policies.
The suit seeks damages for the medical bills incurred as a result of the February 2024 incident, as well as damages arising from the treatment of the injuries. It also states that, as of February 2025, the student was still receiving treatment as a result of the incident.
Under Georgia law, parties seeking to file a lawsuit against a subdivision of government must first send an ante litem notification to the defendants – the governing body.
Responses to Lawsuit
The same attorney, Cameron Poole of Drew Eckel & Farnham, LLP, is representing all of the defendants in the case.
The Bulloch County Board of Education said in its response that the suit failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and that no duty of care was breached. Additionally, the BOE argued that the minor student and his parents contributed to the damages and negligence and that there was an assumption of risk by the minor student when he intentionally jumped from the bus.
The Answers filed by the other defendants largely resembled that of the BOE, but the BOE filed the motion to ask a superior court judge to dismiss the case.
The suit was not dismissed, however, and the parties have been taking depositions for related parties since August 2025.
