LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — The principal of a suburban Kansas City middle school has resigned nearly a month after a student with Asperger’s syndrome was seriously hurt in a bullying incident.

Principal Dan Weakley of Liberty Middle School also will take a personal leave of absence for the remainder of the school year. The Liberty Board of Education on Monday accepted Weakley’s resignation and granted his request for leave.

Twelve-year-old Blake Kitchen suffered injuries including a cracked skull and a fractured jaw in the Feb. 19 attack in the school’s cafeteria. The sixth-grader spent several days at a hospital.

A 14-year-old eighth-grader at the school admitted to the assault and was placed in the custody of the Missouri Division of Youth Services.