My new column discusses the horrifying case of a disabled girl who was the alleged victim of a brutal sexual attack at her Columbus, Ohio, public high school last month–which administrators then tried to cover up, according to witness statements and the girl’s father:

On March 9, according to press reports, a developmentally disabled girl told Mifflin school officials that four boys dragged her into the school auditorium, punched her in the head and face, pushed her to her knees, and forced her to have oral sex with two of them. A crowd of students watched and one student videotaped the incident. The 16-year-old girl’s lip was bloodied in the alleged gang attack; dazed and crying, her face swollen, she reported the assault immediately to her special education teacher, Lisa Upshaw-Miller.

One monstrosity was piled upon another. When the girl’s father, who had been summoned to the school by the teacher, insisted on calling police, an assistant principal twice urged him not to call 911, according to Upshaw-Miller. Assistant Principal Rick Watson implored the girl’s father to call the non-emergency police line instead of 911 a violation of Ohio state law because “a news channel might tape his daughter and cause her further mental trauma,” according to his statement to school investigators.

Meanwhile, according to witnesses, the school’s principal, Regina Crenshaw, shuttered herself in a meeting about bell schedules and curriculum for a half-hour while underlings scrambled to perform damage control.

Cover your ears, cower in a classroom, and pray that the media stay out of it. It’s all about the children, right?

Witness statements revealed that none of the administrators bothered to call a nurse to assist the girl. Only after the girl’s father called police himself did law enforcement come to the scene. By the time the cops arrived, all of the administrators had gone home for the day.

The principal is scheduled to be fired, but the assistant vice principals who allegedly participated in the cover-up are getting away with a slap on the wrist: 10-day suspensions and “sensitivity training” courses. Meanwhile, it looks like education dimwits in the area are going to exploit the crime to drum up diversity dollars under the guise of convening a “violence summit.”

The case hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention outside of Ohio. Disabled advocates should raise hell. Parents should raise hell. Teachers with spines should raise hell.

I do wish the networks and cable news stations would forego a car chase or Michael Jackson segment to spotlight how out of control the blackboard jungle has become–and how complicit CYA educrats are in creating these dangerous environments.

Latest developments in the case are here and here.

Here’s the Montgomery County, Md., report on school assaults I cited in the column.

Lots of parents and education bloggers from all political perspectives are discussing the case…

Maxed Out Mama
Kimbery Swygert at No. 2 Pencil
Blue State Conservatives
The Southern Beat
Wizbang
I Hope
Betsy’s Page

And don’t miss A Clear Voice–which recounts a stunning interview of Columbus mayor Michael Coleman conducted by radio talk show host Glenn Beck, who has done a great job covering the story.

Update: Matt at Ohio for Blackwell has audio of the Beck/Coleman interview.

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