A mom is speaking out after she said her daughter was accused of filming a fight in the Juniata Valley High School cafeteria.
Candy Waite told us her daughter, Alyssa, was there when it happened Friday morning and admits to trying to record the fight.
“She had pushed the wrong button on her phone and it had given a blurry picture instead,” Waite said.
Waite added that school officials told her they also have surveillance video of Alyssa using her phone and that’s what landed her a two day suspension and got her kicked off the cheerleading squad.
“The punishment for this went way too far,” Waite mentioned.
The school handbook states that electronic devices that have the capability to take photographs or record audio or video shall not be used for such purposes while on district property.
The Juniata Valley School District superintendent tells us in the end the punishment is ultimately determined by the principal.
“Our policy clearly states that students should not be taking photographs or video during school,” Michael Zinobile said in a statement. “The discretion is up to the administrator to make the decision on what the discipline would be.”
As Candy goes through her daughter’s suspension paperwork, she told us she feels the school’s reaction was too severe.
“I think they’re a little harsh with the punishment for this,” she noted. “We know kids in other schools that have done the same thing and they just get told to erase it and go about their day.”
We’re told some of the cheerleading squad is sitting out during Friday’s game in support of Alyssa.
One other student was also suspended for shooting video of the fight.
