Houston woman who took in her brother when their mom died says he's grieving and enduring bullying at school

Houston - A young woman who believes her brother is being bullied at school says she wants help before the behavior escalates.  

Bullying allegations

What they're saying:

Megan Smith, who took her little brother in after their mom died, says she feels his school isn't protecting him. He just started the new middle school in December 2024, and she says the 12-year-old has been attacked twice.

"My little brother is a timid little boy. We had to teach him to defend himself. The fact that he's gotten into two fights in the first two months of him being in school is insane," Harris tells FOX 26. "He said the little boy came up to him talking. He didn't know if the little boy was playing, so he started talking back and the little boy slapped him. So, he started punching him back. I wasn't informed about anything until I picked him up, and they told me he was suspended for three days."

"My thought is the school district was not transparent with the guardian. How can you bring a child to a car and say the child is suspended without notifying the guardian, without having incident reports, without even having the child go to the nurse's office to be assessed?" asks community activist Dr. Candice Matthews.

"The FERPA violation [came] in when I was at the front desk and the registrar - who I've had problems with since I enrolled my little brother - told the nurse that I wasn't his parent," says Harris.

"That's in his educational record. So why are you saying that out loud? That's a FERPA violation. You do not disclose children's educational records in an open forum. This was another thing that I found very disturbing. I've never heard of a school denying a parent to watch the video," adds Dr. Matthews.  

FOX 26 has reached out to the school for comment and are waiting to hear back. The school will not be named at this time.

What's next:

What does Harris want to happen from here?  

"I want my little brother to feel safe. I just want him to be OK," she says.

Under FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, parents and guardians can request to view videos pertaining to their children.

Harris says she has been told she will be able to see the video once other kids have been obscured.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' stopbullying.gov website has a list of tips regarding who you should contact if you feel your concerns about bullying aren't being addressed.