Schoolbus Beating Videotaped

The family of a boy who was bullied on a school bus has filed a federal lawsuit against the Eugene, Oregon, School District.

The suit, filed Wednesday, seeks an unspecified payment for damages and attempts to force the district to institute anti-bullying policies.

The incident, recorded by a camera on the parked bus, gained national attention after it was shown on newscasts throughout Oregon.

"When I saw the tape and I actually saw what was happening to him, it was much more violent than my mind could imagine. And it just broke my heart," the boy's mother, Ciel Woodruff, told CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes.

The lawsuit, flied by Roger and Ciel Woodruff, contends that their son Casey was regularly attacked, beginning in 2001, when he was an 11-year-old student at Willakenzie Elementary School.

The suit says Casey's parents reported the violence and named the attackers, but the district failed to prevent continuing assaults until after the Oct. 2, 2002, attack on the bus.

The suit contends the district showed deliberate indifference for the boy's federally protected civil rights, including due process by the district to prevent the reported violence and to protect his right to attend school free of violence.

School district spokesman Kelly McIver said district officials investigated every report of violence, disciplined the offending students and the bus driver and took other steps to make school safe for Casey.

Nevertheless, the Woodruffs claim the district took a "hands off" approach to the bullying and violence.

"This is not a case where the family is upset because their kid got into an occasional playground scuffle," said Marianne Dugan, the family's lawyer. "A clique of boys repeatedly and violently beat Casey for more than a year. Some attacks took place in full view of Casey's teachers."

McIver said confidentiality laws do not permit the district to disclose what punishment the students or the bus driver received.

He said two of the students have since transferred out of the district and the bus driver still works for the district, but on a different route.

McIver said Casey attends Monroe Middle School with a plan in place to ensure immediate reporting of any bullying and prompt action by school officials.

"Our policies condemn harassment and our school-wide programs combat harassment and promote positive behavior," McIver said. "We regret what happened to Casey. We do feel that school officials responded appropriately."

Ciel Woodruff said the lawsuit was filed reluctantly.

"I had really hoped that we could resolve this without a lawsuit, but if that's what it takes to make the district take this seriously and change the way they handle these sorts of problems, we are ready to take it to that level," she said.