x
Breaking News
More () »

Georgia school warns of Tik Tok 'challenge' encouraging students to 'smack a staff member on the backside'

A letter from the principal says students could be subject to suspension or expulsion.

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — An elementary school in metro Atlanta is warning parents after a list of inappropriate Tik Tok "challenges" circulated.

Principal Dr. Lisa Moore at North Fayette Elementary School circulated the warning in a letter to parents. It says school officials have been made aware of a trend where there's basically a challenge of the month planned out over the next few months.

The October "challenge" encourages students to "smack a staff member on the backside."  

RELATED: Students face charges following 'devious licks' TikTok challenge at Coweta County School System

The challenges for the following months range from the disruptive - March's "make a mess in the cafeteria or courtyard" - to the deeply invasive. 

The principal notes that some of the "challenges" - such as April's "grab privates of boys," January's "jab a female," and November's "kiss someone else's girl" - would amount to criminal offenses and even possibly felonies for adults.

Her letter says students could be subject to suspension or expulsion.

"They are more than just challenges, most on the list are criminal offenses," the letter states. "We want you to be aware of them so that you can talk to your student(s) about the seriousness of such actions."

The other two actions on the list include "deck the halls, trash and inappropriate graffiti" for December and "destroy school signs" for February.

It's unclear how widely the list of "challenges" had spread or to what extent such a list would actually influence students. 11Alive's Savannah Levins scanned Tik Tok on Friday morning, the first day of October and the supposed "smack a backside" challenge, and reports there didn't appear to be any videos yet posted depicting anything like it.

Nonetheless, the school is sending a serious message.

"These actions are dangerous, disruptive and illegal," Dr. Moore says in her letter. "We urge you to have a conversation with your student(s) about making good choices and the consequences of poor choices."

Similar "challenges" have landed students at other metro Atlanta schools in big trouble - two middle school students in Coweta County now face charges over the "devious licks" challenge.

That challenge encouraged students to commit various acts of petty theft at school, and one student at Evans Middle School was charged with theft by taking for removing a soap dispenser from a bathroom. The other student involved was charged with interference with government property. 

The school system said that after the charges were brought against the two Evans students, the challenge-inspired behavior "really abated... as word got out that students were being caught and facing some pretty serious consequences."

Before You Leave, Check This Out