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LEESBURG --
A Lee County Middle School student and her mother are worried she might be held back after receiving multiple discipline referrals for things they say shouldn't be an issue.

Angela Carlson says that her 8th grade daughter, Morgan, has been receiving notices of discipline from one teacher for reasons like refusing to comply. When Carlson went to dispute the slips and ask why her daughter was written up, she says she wasn't given an answer other than she failed to comply.

Carlson says while she does agree with the 5 days in-school-suspension Morgan received after her daughter skipped a class, she feels that the other repetitive suspensions are unnecessary and that the school isn't listening to their side.

The final straw for Carlson came after Morgan was given a 10-day out of school suspension and a mandatory tribunal hearing after administrators said she failed to comply while in ISS. Morgan says she was told to leave the room and walked outside to see a police officer standing there.

Carlson then received a voicemail from an administrator saying she had 30 minutes to pick Morgan up or she would be taken to the local police station's holding cell. Carlson says telling a 14-year-old she has 30 minutes to leave or be sent to jail could be scary for a child and it was unnecessary, seeing as how Morgan showed no signs of violence or aggression.

Since that day, Morgan has had to stay home and wait for the tribunal hearing, which was extended after Carlson said she wasn't given an explanation for the punishment and wanted more time to dispute it.

Morgan says each day she misses counts as an unexcused absence which now totals 11 days, making her ineligible for her driver's permit and graduation. Both Morgan and her mother say they just want her to be allowed back in school and removed from the classroom where all the problems stem from.

On Wednesday administrators held the tribunal hearing and decided Morgan would be moved to another team and allowed back, but Carlson says she may still have to fight to get the unexcused days off of her daughter's record so she can try and catch back up.

Carlson says she wanted to get her side out to possibly connect with other parents who have had similar issues and feel they weren't being listened to.

Fox 31 reached out to Lee County Middle School administration who says they have no comment at this time. For now, Carlson says she will have to wait until Friday to meet with administrators to find out if Morgan will be able to make up the work and pass the 8th grade.

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