DENVER -- A day after 7NEWS reported that a 13-year-old middle school student with cerebral palsy was suspended for reporting a bullying attack -- while her attacker remained in school -- the Denver Public School System has taken action.

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Hear Courtney's Story

On Tuesday, 7NEWS reported that Courtney Glowczewski (pictured, left) was sent home after she told an assistant principal that a boy pulled a knife on her and set her hair on fire. School officials told her not to bother about taking final exams, while the classmate accused in the incident was not disciplined.

The interim principal admitted her staff did not call police, did not interview potential witnesses, and did not conduct a proper investigation, 7NEWS reported.

Wednesday night, DPS spokesman Mark Stevens said the alleged attacker was disciplined, and the district has apologized for the incident -- admitting that administrators at the school didn't handle the incident properly.

"There were serious lapses in our processes and our standards," said Stevens. "Victims of harassment and bullying need support and outreach and our full attention."

Stevens did not say what discipline was handed out to the student who is also accused of threatening the girl with a plastic knife prior to setting her hair on fire.

Stevens also said the interim principal who sent Glowczewski home and failed to discipline the alleged attacker will be replaced. He also said the Glowczewski family will be offered counseling.

Courtney's mother, Sherrie Glowczewski, said the hair incident was just the latest in a two-year series of taunts and bullying at the middle school.

"She's bullied all the time, because her right arm is smaller than her left because of cerebral palsy. Her jaw is protruding and it comes out further on the bottom and they called her 'grandma' one day for that," said Sherrie Glowczewski.

"The fact that an incident report was not filed in this case is serious," said 7NEWS investigative reporter John Ferrugia, the reporter who broke the story. "Those reports are part of the annual school accountability required by law and they directly affect a school's rating and, in part, its funding."

According to statistics, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School had the most fights of any school in the state. Sherrie Glowczewski attributes that in part to the bullying climate that pervades the school, a point disputed by Stevens.

"I just wanted to go to a school that didn't make fun of me," said Courtney, crying. "I just wanted to be treated with respect."

If you have had a similar problem with bullying at your school, we want to hear from you. Contact us at newstips@thedenverchannel.com.