HAMPTON, Va. — Officials with Hampton City Schools confirmed students across four high schools participated in walkout demonstrations Monday morning.
The walk-outs stem from claims of repeated acts of sexual assault between two elementary-age students.
“From the point that our children leave our homes until they arrive back at our homes, they are under the jurisdiction of Hampton City Schools," said Nikia Miller, the mother of the alleged victim.
According to Miller, she received a call from the principal of her daughter's elementary school in March 2020. From there, Miller claims she was informed that her daughter had repeatedly been the victim of acts of sexual assault from another student in a school bathroom.
“Verbatim it’s what they said: sexual assault," Miller said.
Almost two years later, Miller said she feels the school failed to adequately respond to the allegations, claiming the division had not taken steps to properly support her. She also claimed the division mishandled the situation overall. Miller said her daughter no longer attends school in the HCS system.
A spokesperson for Hampton City Schools released a statement to 13News Now about the issue:
The information the parent has now come forth with is not factually correct. The school division did investigate and responded to the parent’s complaint. Upon notification of the complaint, immediate action was taken by the school, which included a thorough investigation by the school division and the Hampton City Police Division. Often there are specific details surrounding investigations in which the school division is unable to discuss due to confidentiality laws. However, what we can communicate regarding this matter is the investigation revealed that two female students in the second grade who attend different after-school programs met in a girls’ restroom after school hours. HCS had no knowledge of these encounters until after the fact, and as soon as HCS was made aware, the school division acted as required by law in all manner. HCS made all reports and took all appropriate remedial actions as required by state law and as advised by our attorneys. In addition, HCS took proactive actions including, at the parent’s request, enrolling the aggrieved student at another school and offering counseling.
The statement goes on to say the division does not endorse "airing disagreements on social media or in open forums."
Miller's oldest daughter, Akaiylyn Miller, organized the demonstrations through social media across the high schools.
“I don’t know if I'm getting in trouble," she said.
Both the mother and daughter hoped the walkouts demonstrated that they still aren't over the claims.
Regarding the walkout demonstrations themselves, the division spokesperson claimed that several students who walked out were unable to communicate the reason for participating.