Earlier this week an 8-year-old Indianapolis girl with Down syndrome returned home from school with her shoes and socks duct taped to her body. It is thought the reason for the duct tape was because the girl sometimes refuses to put on her socks and shoes. The tape made it too hard for her to walk she even had to be carried off her school bus at the end of the day. The tape was on so tight it took 30 minutes to remove it.
The family is trying to relocate this young girl from her current school and send her back to her previous elementary school.
Apparently Indiana (along with 20 other states) has no laws that protect kids from seclusion and restraint in schools.
My question is, what in the hell were these school personnel thinking? Was this third grader refusing to put on her shoes such a threat to the teachers and other students in the classroom that this was the best solution to the problem? Is this the type of lesson we want to teach our children?
I know teachers have a lot on their plate. It seems like everyday more and more gets added to it. Most teachers I’ve worked with are amazing, dedicated professionals that always put the needs of children first.
I hope this teacher or administrator or whoever did this is disciplined in some appropriate way. If a punishment cannot be agreed upon, I have a couple of rolls of duct tape in my garage for starters.
-Pete