Birmingham Special Ed Child Beaten in Class for getting Answers Wrong

[Modbert]

Birmingham Student Says Beaten In Class|ABC 33/40 News

Birmingham, AL - A Birmingham child was allegedly beaten for giving the wrong answers on a test.

Sarah Blackmon claims the teacher used a belt on her son after he missed six questions. The beating reportedly broke the skin.

His mother says her son Tony is traumatized by what happened and she is livid. Her son's disability is learning, not behavioral. She says if she had hit her own child, someone would have reported her to the Department of Human Resources so it is unacceptable for a teacher to ever do so.

"He's in special ed because he needs the help and she did this in front of the class and she humiliated him," said Blackmon.

She says 9 year-old Tony can not get past the beating his teacher gave him. She points to a scar on his leg that shows the remnant of a wound now a month old.

"That Monday morning when he got ready to go to school he was hysterical," Blackmon said.

That is when she knew something was wrong. When Tony told her about the alleged beating, she called the Barrett Elementary School teacher herself.

"She said 'he took the test, he brought it up to be graded, he got six answers wrong and I took my belt off and I hit him.'

Her attorney Kira Fonteneau says, while corporal punishment is legal in Alabama, what happened violates the school system's policy as well as federal law.

"We believe that hitting him in that way because he failed to perform was in fact hitting him because he was disabled," said Fonteneau.

Her attorney Kira Fonteneau says, while corporal punishment is legal in Alabama, what happened violates the school system's policy as well as federal law.

"We believe that hitting him in that way because he failed to perform was in fact hitting him because he was disabled," said Fonteneau.

Thoughts?

 

[chanel]

I'm shocked that any schools still have corporal punishment.

 

[Modbert]

I'm shocked that any schools still have corporal punishment.

I'm not, it's common in the South.

 

[Samson]

I'm shocked that any schools still have corporal punishment.

I'm not, it's common in the South.

Corporal Punishment is "Legal" in the following states (about half are "in the south")

Alabama--Legal
Arizona--Legal
Arkansas--Legal
Colorado--Legal
Florida--Legal
Georgia--Legal
Idaho--Legal
Indiana--Legal
Kansas--Legal
Kentucky--Legal
Louisiana--Legal
Mississippi--Legal
New Mexico--Legal
North Carolina--Legal
Ohio--Legal
Oklahoma--Legal
South Carolina--Legal
Tennessee--Legal
Texas--Legal
Wyoming--Legal

HOWEVER it is important to note that NO state actually runs a school system (except Hawaii). Each school system within these states has their own policies regarding corporal punishment. For example, while corporal punishment might be legal in Texas, it is explicitly against the policy of almost every school district in the state.

Furthermore, there are VERY strict Federal Rules regarding the treatment of Special Education Students. I found this out after I restrained a mentally disabled student that went berserk in a crowded hallway after lunch. All I did was wrap an arm around her and guide her through a door into the main office. I was rewarded with a manditory "Restraint Class" that I took on Thursdays for 2 hours after school at the administration building for FOUR WEEKS....oh yes, fun.

Afterward I swore that if anyone went crazy, my only response would be to make a hasty exit from the scene.

(much like discussion board threads)

 

[Modbert]

The majority of the rest of those countries are either still in the south or in the bible belt. It's honestly not a surprise either way.