North Carolina: Bullied nine year old can bring his "My Little Pony" backpack to school

Nine year old Grayson Bruce, a student in Asheville, NC was taunted by his classmates for wearing a "My Little Pony" backpack.

When his mother addressed the situation, the school told her Grayson couldn't wear the backpack because it is a "trigger for bullying," basically putting the blame on Grayson for the bullying.

The story has gone viral over the past several days, attracting the attention of national news outlets and more than 70,000 Facebook supporters rallying behind the #SupportforGrayson hashtag.

Now, the school has reconsidered after meeting with Grayson's mother on Thursday.

The Buncombe County School District released a statement Thursday in response saying:

"We have appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Bruce family and discuss the issues. We sincerely regret that the issue of being told to leave the book bag at home was perceived as blaming Grayson. While that was not the intent, the perception became reality. We support Grayson bringing the book bag to school.

"We discussed a number of options to consider in moving forward for Grayson. All of the options discussed included a safety transition plan and an allowance for Grayson to bring the book bag to school.

"Every situation with young children is a teachable moment and we will use this example in our efforts to address a wider issue of bullying. The Bruce family has committed to working with us to improve and enhance our anti-bullying programs.