(ProsperNews.net) – Police arrested three female students at a middle school in Georgia after a fight broke out in the lunchroom. Two of the girls, aged 13 and 14, who are students at the Rome Middle School, were separated by school resource officers, but they broke away and the physical fight started up again. When one girl was restrained, another began kicking the officer, and the situation continued to escalate – even on the way to the police station, when the girls were cuffed.
The 13-year-old was charged with five counts of felony obstruction of an officer and one count of misdemeanor simple battery. The 14-year-old girl was charged with felony interference with government property, five counts of felony obstruction of an officer, and one count of misdemeanor simple battery, while the other 13-year-old, who intervened to prevent officers from breaking up the fight, was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement officers.
Some reports say that the fight broke out just after 8 am in the school canteen when one girl approached another, made unknown comments, and then walked away, only to be attacked from behind. The girls have not been identified, but the fight reportedly continued in the police station, with one student kicking and throwing items in the interview room.
Violence in American schools is at new highs, according to experts, and has grown since schools re-opened following the coronavirus pandemic. The National Center for Education Statistics found that 84% of public school teachers said behavior deteriorated after the pandemic, and around two-thirds said it was much worse in 2021 than in 2019. Some areas have passed legislation to provide punitive measures for schools and make it easier to expel or suspend students, including Clark County in Nevada and San Diego.
Other experts say, however, that expulsion doesn’t work, and call for “restorative justice” programs instead. Some argue that exclusion makes disruptive pupils worse, but concede it can and does make life better for non-disruptive students.
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