Bucks County father outraged by school’s response after 5-year-old son attacked by special needs 4th grader

CROYDON, Pa. (CBS) — A Bucks County father is taking to social media, sharing his story and calling for change Tuesday night after he says his kindergarten-aged son was allegedly bullied at school.

In a now-viral TikTok video recently posted by Stephen Callahan, he said his 5-year-old son, Grayson, was physically assaulted by a fourth-grader with special needs last Thursday while they were both they were at Keystone Elementary.

“I haven’t eaten or slept properly since it happened,” Callahan said in an interview with CBS News Philadelphia on Tuesday.

In the social media video, Callahan said she was first told by the school it was an accident, but later learned from the principal that an aide with the fourth-grader was distracted during the incident .

“I feel helpless,” he said in the TikTok video.

On Tuesday, the Croydon father said his son was making a physical recovery from injuries to his face and mouth.

“I believe due to the negligence of a staff member, a special needs child was unsupervised and that child attacked my son,” Callahan said.

Callahan said she’s speaking out to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. The family’s attorney, David Langsam, believes there is surveillance video, but neither he nor the family have seen it yet.

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare that you take your kids somewhere you expect them to learn and be safe, and when something like this happens, it completely shatters your faith,” Langsam said.

The district confirmed the incident and released a statement that said in part:

“On Thursday, May 16, a Keystone Elementary Kindergarten student was injured when he was pushed into the cafeteria by a 4th grader from a special education program run by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU).

We apologize to the student and family and wish the child a speedy recovery. Our primary concern is the health and safety of all our students, and whenever a student is injured at school, we are saddened.

BCIU runs a special education program that utilizes space within Keystone Elementary School. Students served by this program are students of BCIU, not Bristol Township School District. The staff running the program are employees of BCIU, not the Bristol Township School District.”

The statement added that the BCIU team has an active investigation into the incident.

BCIU released a statement that read in part: “Based on the results of this investigation, Bucks IU will take appropriate action specific to the students, team members and programs involved. In addition to the swift actions taken by the Bucks IU team, Bucks IU remains committed to supporting everyone involved in this difficult situation.”

The Bristol Township Police Department said an investigation is “open and ongoing” with the Bristol Township School District and the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.