Boston failed Henderson Inclusion School Principal Patricia Lampron with its weak school safety policies, and she paid the price during a 2021 attack by a student.

The Boston City Council stepped up on Wednesday, approved a home rule petition that would hike disability pension benefits for the former educator.

Lampron, 61 when she was beaten by a student at the Dorchester school, was left with traumatic brain injury that affects her speech, mobility, and cognition, along with post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s impossible for her to return to work.

That’s the side of crime that rarely sees the spotlight: the aftermath and further suffering of the victim.

“I’m filing this home rule petition … to help Tricia Lampron receive the retirement pension that she deserves,” Councilor John FitzGerald said at Wednesday’s meeting. “On Nov. 3, 2021, while in her capacity as principal, Tricia was seriously injured in a violent attack by a student. She was punched in the head and face repeatedly with a closed fist. She was completely knocked out for at least 4 minutes.”

FitzGerald, who represents Dorchester, said Lampron received workers’ compensation from the date of the injury through Nov. 3, 2024, but those benefits only covered 60% of her salary.

Lampron was left having to use sick time to cover the remaining 40%, which the councilor said has “impacted her pension and annuity fund considerably.”

This is a prime example of adding insult to injury. A crime victim shouldn’t have to bear fiscal hardship because they were attacked.

Her attacker, Laurette LeRouge, 16 at the time, was charged as a “youthful offender” and ordered to stay in the custody of the Department of Youth Services, it was reported. She’ll be released from DYS custody on her 21st birthday.

Safety protocols at Henderson were launched after the attack, and these included a visible police presence. This was anathema to activists who wanted Boston Police out of city schools. It took a vicious assault for reason to prevail.

Then-Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius announced that new safety measures for arrival and dismissal at the school would include more BPS safety staff on hand with additional coverage at the Ashmont T Station, and members of the Boston Police Department visible and available for assistance.

FitzGerald said the governor signed a similar bill into law last year to hike disability pension payments to 100% of regular compensation for first responders injured in the line of duty. There was a time when first responders were part of a small set of people who risked their lives on the job. Unfortunately, teachers have been coming under literal attack. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that approximately 2% to 6% of public school teachers reported being physically attacked by a student.

Safety protocols in Boston schools can ease this problem, but they come too late to protect Lampron.

The petition, co-sponsored by Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn, would have to be signed by the mayor and approved by state lawmakers to take effect. This is an easy one: sign the petition and help Patricia Lampron.

Editorial cartoon by Chip Bok (Creators Syndicate)