TN: Thousands of Memphis Elementary Students Suspended And Expelled

Reported by: Kevin Holmes
Email: kholmes@myeyewitnessnews.com
Last Update: 9:23 am

http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Thousands-of-Memphis-Elementary-Students/sB_MLR55-ka4TJuGOkPWZQ.cspx

MEMPHIS, TN – Just about every school in the country has suspended or expelled a student, but when it comes to Memphis City Schools the number is in the thousands, according to Memphis City School Board Member Kenneth Whalum, and that’s just for elementary school. Last year, nearly 9,000 MCS students (K – 5) were suspended. Close to 500 were expelled.

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According to James Bacchus, MCS’ Executive Director of Student Support, programs are in place to deal with the problem. One is called Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). Its goal is to help teachers understand and identify inappropriate behavior before it starts. But PBIS has been around for years, which is why Whalum questions if that’s enough.

For the full article, please follow the link: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Thousands-of-Memphis-Elementary-Students/sB_MLR55-ka4TJuGOkPWZQ.cspx

To see the MCS Code of Conduct, please click here: http://www.mcsk12.net/policy/policy_coc.asp

TN: Coaches' Paddlings of High School Basketball Player Upheld

By Mark Walsh on December 11, 2009 5:04 PM |

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2009/12/coaches_paddlings_of_high_scho.html

A federal appeals court today upheld frequent paddlings of a high school basketball player in Memphis by his coaches over missed practices, tardiness, poor grades, and even, allegedly, for missed shots during basketball games.

Noting that Tennessee law permits corporal punishment by teachers "for good cause in order to maintain discipline and order within the public schools," a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled unanimously that "a reasonable juror could conclude that the paddlings administered by [the two coaches] were for disciplinary purposes, and were not 'excessive' in severity, frequency, motivation, or means."

The case brought by Martin Nolan, a student at Hamilton High School in Memphis from 2001 to 2004, against the two basketball coaches, school administrators, and the Memphis district alleged that the paddlings violated his 14th Amendment right to substantive due process of law.

At trial, the coaches denied paddling Nolan for missing shots, saying he may have been paddled for demonstrating poor technique on the court. But they acknowledged paddling him for disciplinary reasons and, on a few occasions, for poor grades. The district's then-superintendent testified that she believed one of the coaches paddled basketball players for missing shots and that she suspended him from coaching as a result.

The coaches said they did not use much force in paddling Nolan, and the defendants presented evidence that the student did not suffer any serious injuries. The jury ruled for the defendants on all claims.

In its ruling in Nolan v. Memphis City Schools, the 6th Circuit panel said the paddlings "did not amount to a brutal and inhumane abuse of official power that shocks the conscience."

"The Nolans contend that paddling a high school student for a nondisciplinary reason cannot be tolerated in a civilized society," the court said. "The jury, however, was entitled to draw a different conclusion."

TN: Spanking guidelines modified

Friday, November 20, 2009

By JOHN I. CARNEY ~ jcarney@t-g.com

http://www.t-g.com/story/1588852.html

Bedford County Board of Education revised its corporal punishment policy Thursday night due to statewide concerns that corporal punishment is not equally applied to male and female students.

The change is being made by multiple school systems in response to complaints about the practice from the American Civil Liberties Union, said School Superintendent Ed Gray.

Many systems in Tennessee, including Bedford County, use model school system policies supplied by the Tennessee School Boards Association. Not every school system uses corporal punishment, but those who do, and who are using the model TSBA policy, have been using this guideline:

"6. In determining the use and degree of corporal punishment, consideration will be given to the age, sex, size, physical and emotional condition of the child."

Gray said that there have been complaints by ACLU at the state level that corporal punishment is not equally applied to boys and girls, which would be a violation of Title IX educational requirements. For this reason, the state sent out a memo to local school systems using corporal punishment asking them to strike guideline 6 entirely from their policies.

The memo says that the state has negotiated with the U.S. Department of Education to make the change, and if all of the affected school systems remove the item by Jan. 15, 2010, the federal Department of Education will close its complaint against the state.

The remaining provisions, which are still in effect, include requiring that corporal punishment be administered "only after less stringent measures have failed, or if the conduct of a student is of such nature that corporal punishment is the only reasonable form of punishment under the circumstances." Corporal punishment must be administered in the presence of a second professional employee, using an instrument approved by the school's principal. The punishment must be "reasonable" and "in proportion to the gravity of the offense, the apparent motive and disposition of the offender, and the influence of the offender's example and conduct on others."

In other discussion Thursday night:

* Board members welcomed their newest colleague, Chad Graham, who was appointed last week by Bedford County Board of Commissioners to fill the unexpired term of the late Jerry Naron. Graham is director of Bedford County Emergency Medical Services.

* County finance director Robert Daniel said the school system's finances are tight, but not in crisis, due to the economic slowdown and its effect on tax revenues.

"It is manageable at this time, but if it continues on this trend it may not be manageable," said Daniel.

Gray said the real crisis point for the school system may be the 2011-2012 fiscal year, when some of the stimulus funding being received by the state will run out and the state is likely to cut some of its assistance for local school systems.

"2011-2012 may be our worst nightmare," said Gray, especially if the next governor is not as dedicated to preserving Basic Education Program funding as Gov. Phil Bredesen has been.

The board passed a routine budget amendment accounting for various grant funds and adjusting the revenue figures slightly to comply with the state's maintenance of effort requirements

* The board approved bids for school buses, vehicle parts, batteries, oil and lubricants and roofing repair.

Three 66-passenger school buses will be replaced at Liberty School, at a cost of $70,709 each, and a new 90-passenger bus will be added to the county's fleet at a cost of $80,704. Two special education buses will be purchased with federal stimulus funds at a cost of $83,121 each. The special education buses are as expensive as much larger school buses because of the special equipment they include, such as wheelchair lifts and seat belts.

* School board members reported on various seminars and breakout sessions from the recent Tennessee School Boards Association convention.

TN: School board changes paddling policy

Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
Monday, Nov 09, 2009

http://www.herald-citizen.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=D9ED5BB4-19B9-E2E2-6748B51B28ECA48E

COOKEVILLE -- From now on, Putnam school principals who discipline students by paddling must not make any difference between boys and girls. That and other considerations -- age, size, physical and emotional condition of the student -- were removed from official school policy last week by vote of the Putnam school board, acting on a recommendation from the Tennessee Dept. of Education and the Tennessee School Boards Association.

The board's action removes this sentence from official school board policy on corporal punishment: "In determining the use and degree of corporal punishment, consideration will be given to the age, sex, physical and emotional condition of the child." Why did the education officials recommend doing away with that provision in the corporal punishment policy? Because of a grievance filed by Tennesseans for Non-Violent School Discipline. That group filed the grievance against Putnam and several other school systems which still had the gender consideration in their paddling policies.

To comment on this story, click this link to go to our Facebook page.

The grievance was filed with the Office of Civil Rights, based on the Title IX federal law which requires gender equity for students in education programs that receive federal funding. Including gender as a consideration in whether to paddle and how hard to paddle amounts to gender discrimination, the group argues.

Reportedly, Putnam County was among 68 Tennessee school systems cited in the group's complaint. After last Thursday's school board meeting in which the considerations clause of the corporal punishment policy was deleted, the Herald-Citizen asked Director of Schools Kathleen Airhart about the use of corporal punishment in the county's schools. "It's pretty infrequent here," she said. "Only a handful of our schools still use it. Most resort to other means in disciplinary matters." She said paddling is still used at Cornerstone Middle School, White Plains Academy, and Cane Creek Elementary.

She said the current policy allows parents to opt out of school paddling of their children. "But some parents tell us they want their children paddled if necessary." The official board policy says this: "Any principal or assistant principal may use corporal punishment in a reasonable manner against any student for good cause in order to maintain discipline and order within the public schools in accordance with guidelines."

The guidelines are as follows:
* Corporal punishment shall be administered only after other less stringent measures have failed, or if the conduct of the student is of such nature that corporal punishment is the only reasonable form of punishment under the circumstances.
* The instrument to be used in administering corporal punishment shall be approved by the principal.
* Corporal punishment shall be reasonable.
* Corporal punishment shall be administered in the presence of another professional employee.
* The nature of the punishment will be such that it is in proportion to the gravity of the offense, the apparent motive and disposition of the offender, and the influence of the offender's example and conduct on others.

The policy also requires that a detailed record of the incident and the punishment be made.

TN: Parents Claim Daughter Victim Of Bully Abuse At School

November 3, 2009

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11438954

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A Clarksville couple said their special needs daughter is being bullied and physically assaulted at school. The parents said they are pulling their daughter from the public school system.

The Nelsons are recording every assault on their daughter. They claim Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools is giving them the run-around and someone is going to get hurt.

"Jabbed in the neck with pencil," said father Steve Nelson. "Punched in the nose."

Autism makes Steve and Holley Nelson's 12-year-old daughter a special needs student, and cruel classmates make her a target.

"She really needs to be moved. She's afraid to go to school. She has anxiety issues about it," said Holley.

More and more school districts are transitioning special needs students into mainstream classrooms.

"You would walk into a classroom tomorrow, and you wouldn't know who's regular education and who's special education, and that's intentional," said spokesperson for Clarksville- Montgomery County Schools, Elise Shelton.

Shelton said blending students is a win-win. As for the Nelson case, Shelton said school leaders are responding appropriately by pairing the girl with positive peer groups and not students who might tease her.

The Nelsons, though, are not convinced inclusion is best or even safe for their 6th grade daughter.

Steve went before the school board to plead for intervention on behalf of his oldest daughter, who has gone from loving school to loathing it.

School board members did not respond to Steve's presentation Tuesday, and they are not required to. The Nelsons said they can appeal to get their daughter enrolled in one of two private schools and have Clarksville - Montgomery County Schools pick up the tuition cost.

The Nelsons have a meeting next week with school leaders to fix the problem and keep her in public schools.

The family signed a waiver allowing the school system to talk to NewsChannel 5 about their daughter's predicament.

ACTION ALERT: TN NCD to discuss employment, health care and seclusion issues affecting the disabled

The National Council on Disability (NCD) will hear presentations and discuss employment, health care, and restraint and seclusion issues affecting people with disabilities during its quarterly meeting at the Holiday Inn Express, 920 Broadway, Nashville, TN, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 26, 2009, and concludes at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. This meeting is open to the public.

The employment session will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 9:15 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Speakers include:

Andrea Cooper, Assistant Commissioner, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Nashville, TN

Lillian Burch, Executive Director, DisABILITY Resource Center, Knoxville, TN

Carol Westlake, Executive Director, Tennessee Disability Coalition, Nashville, TN

A discussion on seclusion and restraint will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 10:45 a.m. until noon. Speakers include:

Holly Lu Conant Rees, Education Advocate, ARC of Davidson County, Nashville, TN

Steven Glowicki, Family Educator, STEP (Support and Training for Exceptional Parents) Inc., Nashville, TN

A presentation on health care for people with disabilities will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 2:00 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. The presenter will be:

Tony Garr, Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Nashville, TN

NCD will also host a reception at the hotel for meeting participants, audience members, and stakeholders from the disability community on Tuesday, October 27 from noon until 2:00 p.m. Additional details about the meeting are available athttp://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/quarterly/quarterly.htm. Written comments for Council consideration can be submitted at any time by writing to ncd@ncd.gov.

Specific times are also designated to receive public comment, supported by a toll-free call-in line, and input is encouraged and greatly appreciated. Individuals or organizations can also provide written comments by e-mail, fax, or mail. A public comment session will be held on Monday, October 26 from 4:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. CST.

SOURCE National Council on Disability

TN: Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Abusing Students

Incidents Allegedly Occurred During the 2008-09 School Year

POSTED: 3:31 pm CDT October 23, 2009

UPDATED: 11:02 pm CDT October 23, 2009

http://www.wsmv.com/news/21406011/detail.html

GALLATIN, Tenn. -- A 47-year-old special education teacher is facing federal lawsuits alleging she severely abused students under the age of six.

Donna Weidenbenner is accused of force feeding children until they vomited, shoving them into furniture, kicking them, strapping children to a toilet and restraining them with blankets. Nineteen separate examples of abuse are cited in the charges.

A total of six special needs children were allegedly abused.

Weidenbenner was indicted on child abuse charges in July. The lawsuits say the incidents occurred during the 2008-09 school year while Weidenbenner taught at Station Camp Elementary in Gallatin, Tenn.

The Sumner County Board of Education is also named in the federal lawsuit, which alleges the children's 1st and 14th amendment rights were violated.

The board is named in the suit because they are accused of ignoring the abuse. The suit alleges that school aides that reported Weidenbenner's misconduct to the school were ignored.

"This abuse and conduct has been engaged in by Mrs. Weidenbenner over a span of multiple years. And that the school board had reports made to it that it knew, or should have known, what was happening over that period of time, and should have taken some form of action to stop it and prevent it in the future," said attorney Andy Allman.

Weidenbenner has worked in the Sumner County school district since 1991.

District officials said Weidenbenner was suspended without pay in April once they said the allegations against her came to light.

TN: Bristol Board of Education Takes Swat at Corporal Punishment

By ROGER BROWN
Published: October 20, 2009

http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/bristol_board_of_education_takes_swat_at_corporal_punishment/34461/

BRISTOL, Tenn. – A longtime policy that allows Bristol students to be spanked came closer to being swatted into history Monday night, when Board of Education members gave initial approval to a proposal banning corporal punishment in city schools.

By a 4-1 vote, board members approved a recommendation by Director of Schools Gary Lilly that the district drop corporal punishment as a discipline option at its seven schools.

The school board now must hold a second vote, scheduled for Dec. 14, to officially approve the ban. It would take effect immediately.

“It’s inappropriate in this era,” said board member Nelson Pyle, explaining his vote to eliminate spanking.

But Kelly Buskell III, the sole board member who voted against Lilly’s proposal, said while he didn’t support corporal punishment, he saw no reason for a formal ban.

“It’s hardly being used at all now in our schools anyway,” Buskell said in a post-meeting interview. “But I felt we should at least keep it as an option for discipline.”

Tennessee is one of 21 states where corporal punishment is still legal, according to a 2008 report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. The report, which demanded a nationwide end to corporal punishment, stated that Tennessee ranked sixth among states in the number of students who receive such discipline.

In Bristol, that punishment has been delivered by spanking students with a wooden paddle. Lilly said parents had to give permission for their children to be spanked – and that it was only used after other disciplinary actions had failed.

During Monday night’s meeting, Lilly urged school board members to ban spanking, saying there were growing legal concerns about the practice. Lilly said he’d recently consulted with a state legal adviser, who told the director that while school principals who paddled students were legally protected from allegations of assault, they were not immune from accusations of inappropriate or improper touching.

“It exposes our district and our principals to unnecessary liability,” Lilly said. “This isn’t a philosophical issue. It’s a legal one.”

Lilly’s proposal drew no comments from residents and others at Monday night’s meeting.

rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512

TN: Teacher Licensing Actions

Want to find out more about your child's teachers?

Tennessee maintains a searchable database of teacher licensing which includes information about whether a license is active or inactive, whether an educator has had any revocations, suspensions, or disciplinary actions, the date the license was issued, and the expiration date. Also listed is whether the teacher is considered "Highly Qualified" and if so, what subjects the teacher is highly qualified in.

This information and more can be found here:
https://www.k-12.state.tn.us/tcertinf/EducatorSearch.asp.

Note: From what we have been able to determine, this listing includes EVERY person who has ever had a license in the state, NOT just those who have faced disciplinary action.

To search the database, searchers may input the educators last name. A first name or social security number can also be included, but is not necessary to return a listing of results.

TN: Judge Rules Locked Seclusion Room Legal

NOTE: The Joseph Brown Elementary School is located in the Maury County Public School System in Columbia Tennessee. The 9 year old boy in this case was placed in a room with no interior handle in his underwear ; construction paper covered the door's window...This treatment has been deemed LEGAL in Tennessee....

Court sides with schools on seclusion rooms

Judge: No sign of wrongdoing
By CHRIS GRAHAM/ chrisgraham@c-dh.net

http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/articles/2009/09/23/top_stories/01seclusion.txt

Educators at Joseph Brown Elementary School can resume using a seclusion room for unruly students after a judge ruled against a mother angered by the treatment of her 9-year-old son.

On Thursday Chancery Court Judge Jim Hamilton dismissed a petition by Michelle Parks, who had alleged school officials broke state law by stripping her son to his underwear and leaving him in a bare concrete room on Sept. 15.

However, Tasha Walker, the child’s teacher, said in a court hearing Tuesday the boy was put in the room, which features a steel door with a small window and no interior handle, after he had become aggressive and wrapped his shirt around his neck in what appeared to be a harmful manner. She also said he kicked her and head-butted an assistant.

Hamilton said evidence presented in the court hearing Tuesday showed there was no sign of wrongdoing.

“There is no proof that the personnel at Joseph Brown Elementary School did not follow the statutory requirements when this child was placed in isolation,” the order reads.

Parks had asked the judge to bar educators from using the seclusion room and was granted an emergency injunction until a decision was made.

Kevin Latta, Parks’ attorney, said he respected the court’s decision and congratulated the school district.

“You can’t win them all,” he said. “The biggest concern is giving the student the help he needs as well as seeing to it that his education continues.”

A message left for School District Attorney Jake Wolaver was not immediately returned Thursday.

School spokeswoman Sharon Kinnard said the school district is content with Hamilton’s decision and that “it shows that we are following the rules and guidelines set forth by state and federal law as well as school board policy.”

“This ruling shows that we have dedicated employees that are well-trained and work hard to help every student prepare for the future,” she said.

Latta had claimed educators broke several guidelines in a state law passed in January by placing the boy in the seclusion room by himself with no way to get out. Walker testified Tuesday that when a student is being aggressive, a bar on the outside of the door is held to keep the student inside. Walker and other school officials testified the door’s handle had been removed and would always stay open if not held shut.

Latta also argued state law was violated when Walker placed a sheet of construction paper over the window, obstructing her view of the student.

However, Hamilton said the seclusion room use appeared to be “in the best interest and for the protection of the student...”

“It is not intended to be punishment, rather it is done in hopes that the student will gather themselves and no longer be a threat to harm themselves, other students and staff,” the order states.

Kelley Woodside, the district’s special education supervisor, said the seclusion room is the only one of its kind in the Maury County School District. Since July 2008, the room has been used 45 times and only for the skills acquisition class at Brown Elementary, Woodside said. Currently, there are three students in the class at Brown and about 2,000 special needs children district-wide.

“This proof tells the Court that the other 1,997 Special Education students are being well cared for and the teachers in the schools these children attend are doing a good job,” the order states.

Hamilton commended Maury County special education teachers for their top-notch work.

“These Special Education teachers are a dedicated lot who must have a very strong commitment to try and help these unfortunate children live as near a normal life as they possibly can with their affliction,” the order states.

Latta said he and his client are undecided on how to move forward.

TN: Supervisor - Teachers trained on restraint

By CHRIS GRAHAM/ chrisgraham@c-dh.net

A seclusion room at Joseph Brown Elementary School has been used 45 times in less than two academic school years, according to a letter from the school district’s special education supervisor.

In response to a public records request made by The Daily Herald asking for documents related to the seclusion room, the district released only a letter dated Sept. 25, 2009, and signed by Special Education Supervisor Kelley Woodside. The letter states the seclusion room was used 39 times during the 2008-09 school year. So far this academic year, the room has been utilized six times, according to the letter.

The school has been temporarily barred from using the room by Judge Jim Hamilton who issued an emergency injunction. A Maury County woman has alleged that the school violated state law by placing her 9-year-old son, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactive disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, in a bare concrete room with no handle on the door Sept. 15.
Among the items requested from the school district was a report written by School Resource Officer Tony Greene regarding the Sept. 15 incident.

Greene said he turned the document over to the central office. Schools spokeswoman Sharon Kinnard said Wednesday she did not believe officials ever received the document.

The school district has maintained the room has been used in compliance with a state law passed in January 2009.

A decision by Hamilton is expected to be made sometime this week on whether the district can continue use of the room.

The mother also claims educators stripped her son down to his underwear before putting him in the seclusion room.

In Chancery Court Tuesday, the boy’s special education teacher, Tasha Walker, said the boy was placed in the room after taking off his shirt and placing it around his neck in what appeared to be a harmful manner. She also said he kicked her and threatened other students.

According to Woodside’s letter, a student is placed in the room only when a student is “in danger of harming self or other(s)” and “has not responded to positive attempts to de-escalate.”

Woodside also wrote that special education teachers received training on restraint and seclusion on Oct. 3, 2008, and re-certification classes were taught Aug. 25 and Sept. 9-10 of this year.

Story created Oct 01, 2009 - 15:55:17 EDT.

TN: Volunteer coach charged with sex abuse

June 04, 2009 11:15 EDT
http://www.wztv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.ky/23b9eac7-www.fox17.com.shtml

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) -- A volunteer coach for an elementary school basketball team has been charged with sexually abusing teenage girls.

The Paducah Sun reports that 46-year-old Donald Richard of Fancy Farm was arrested Monday and charged with multiple counts of sodomy, sexual abuse and using a minor in a sexual performance. The charges involve four girls.

Richard pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday and Graves District Judge Deborah Crooks ordered that he be assigned a public defender.

Richard has served as a volunteer assistant basketball coach for Fancy Farm Elementary School for the last two years.

Graves County School District spokesman says Paul Schaumburg says a background check of Richard came back approved. According to court records, he has no prior criminal record.

------

Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com

TN: Autistic boy's arrest at school fuels debate on discipline for disabled

NOTE: Another child with autism has been arrested, and why? Well, it all started with the boy's asthma attack. Staff then attempted to force him to continue running, despite an attack so severe he had to use his inhaler, and in protest, the boy ran out of the school building. Then staff forcefully brought him back into the building and continued to restrain him even after the danger had passed, and then they called the police when the child bit and scratched two employees as he tried to break free from the continued restraint. Anyone who knows anything about autism knows that physical restraints only exacerbate the problem and trigger a "flight or fight response," and there are alternatives that are just effective, if not more so, that don't involve physical violence against a child. This whole situation could have been prevented had the gym teacher elicited one iota of common sense and permitted the child to "sit out" the remainder of gym class, as an "asthma attack" is a medical emergency, and one that required him to use his physician-prescribed inhaler. He was in no physical condition to continue running IMMEDIATELY AFTER an asthma attack. So not only are they clueless about autism, but they're clueless about asthma as well...Is it any wonder this is the same district this same Mom butted heads with after her son was locked in a "seclusion box?"

By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • March 29, 2009

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090329/NEWS04/903290370&s=d&page=3

PORTLAND — Cindy Gaspard knew something was different about her son, Dylan, when he was 6 months old.

As an infant, he would line up toys in a row and throw a fit if the order was disrupted. He didn't like to be held. He couldn't speak until he was 3.

Dylan was diagnosed at age 7 with autism, a brain disorder that affects communication and social interaction. For Gaspard, the finding explained years of communication problems and outbursts, and helped her learn how to deal with many of his behaviors and to fight for services for her son.

She is fighting for him again.

Dylan, a sixth-grader enrolled in a special-needs program in Sumner County schools, was recently handcuffed, arrested and put in juvenile detention after an outburst in school. He was charged with two counts of assault for biting and scratching teachers.

"I disagree with court or jail as a placement for a mentally challenged child, when what he clearly needs is psychiatric treatment," Gaspard said of her 12-year-old son. "For Dylan, sitting in jail meant nothing to him. Treatment and assistance at a hospital will help him attain the skills he needs."

The case reflects an ongoing debate in Tennessee: How should school officials handle and defuse behavioral outbursts of developmentally disabled students at school?

Federal law prevents school officials from discussing students' cases, said district spokesman Jeremy Johnson.

But he said school district policy is that police will be called for children under certain circumstances, including when the child leaves school grounds, when the child's behavior cannot be controlled by teachers, and when a crime is committed.

"When a child is admitted to the therapeutic intervention program, parents are notified that we could have to call police," Johnson said.

Dylan, who has been in the hospital for a psychological evaluation since the episode on March 9, is not the first child with developmental disabilities to be arrested.

"Statewide, we have had several cases of children with disabilities being arrested and being taken to Juvenile Court for behaviors in school," said Sherry Wilds, staff attorney for the Tennessee Disability Law and Advocacy Center. "It's the answer a lot of systems have."

Seclusion Boxes Gone

Gaspard spoke out for her son in 2007 about seclusion boxes — small, dark rooms made of plywood where special-needs children were put to control behavior in Sumner County schools. She found out Dylan was put in one and helped bring their existence to public attention. The district has since removed the boxes.

A state law went into effect in January that is designed to prevent students from being subjected to unreasonable, unsafe or unwarranted discipline by prohibiting methods that include sitting on students as a restraint or putting them in a locked room. The Tennessee Board of Education will hold a public hearing April 30 on the rules for the restraint and isolation statute. April is also Autism Awareness Month.

Gaspard said Dylan had just been enrolled in the program at R.T. Fisher Alternative School in Gallatin a week before his arrest. He was placed there to better serve his educational needs.

But new situations and changes to routine can trigger his explosions, and school officials were aware of that because it is in his education plan. Methods that work best for him are taking him out of the situation or turning his attention to another activity, his mother said.

Boy Had Asthma Attack

Gaspard said after her son was arrested she learned that Dylan was in the gym running laps, and he had an asthma attack. He was allowed to stop to use his inhaler. When the teacher tried to get him to start running again, Dylan got frustrated and ran out of the school, saying he was going to "get hit by a car."

She said teachers were able to get him back in the building, but when they were restraining him, he acted out further.

Police said Dylan bit one teacher and kicked and scratched two others.

"If the child is so out of control that the teachers can no longer handle him, we are going to have to respond," said Lt. Kate Novitsky, spokeswoman for the Gallatin Police Department. "If the child is biting, scratching and kicking, the child is going to have to be taken into custody."

Gaspard said restraining Dylan can backfire because, like many children with autism, he doesn't want to be touched. He banged his head against the table and had a bruise on his head the size of a golf ball.

Dylan was handcuffed, put in the police car and taken to juvenile detention. Police were not told he had autism.

Johnson, the Sumner County schools spokesman, said the district is not allowed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to release that information to police, "even in an emergency."

Wilds, the Tennessee Disability Law and Advocacy Center attorney, disputes that contention, saying laws don't typically apply in an emergency.

"If you are getting ready to throw a child in the back of a car and take them away, you would want to know please handle this child carefully, they can't communicate that well," she said.

Arrest Stuns Advocates

Wilds said public and private lawyers are not always trained to handle these cases to fight for the child in courts. A behavioral analysis should be done on many of these children before police or court become involved.

"That way you can have a behavior intervention program in place when something happens," she said.

Holly Lu Conant Rees, chairman of the Disability Coalition on Education, said she has a lot of questions about the episode, including what plans were in place to help Dylan before the situation escalated. She does not believe arresting him was the answer.

"I believe it's unconscionable to arrest a 12-year-old child for behaviors that were clearly manifestations of the child's disability," said Conant Rees, who advocates for children of disabilities.

As for Gaspard, she is trying to figure out what the next step for Dylan will be and how to help him.

"Dylan is a very loving, funny child, and people are drawn to him and his big smile," Gaspard said. "He is the light of my life, and it's hard when you feel you are always butting heads with someone to get your child help."

TN: Maury Co. May Stop School Spanking

Schools Director Has Strongly Discouraged Spanking
POSTED: 10:31 am CDT March 30, 2009
http://www.wsmv.com/news/19045231/detail.html

COLUMBIA, Tenn. -- School officials in Columbia are considering eliminating paddling to avoid possible lawsuits alleging abuse.

The Maury County school board gave initial approval this month to eliminating the policy, which states that corporal punishment should only be used as a last resort. However, parents are allowed to opt out.

Schools Director Eddie Hickman said he has strongly discouraged the practice and he doesn't want the school system or the faculty to face a possible lawsuit if the punishment is used incorrectly.

Corporal punishment incidents in the county have plummeted in recent years, from 77 incidents in the 2004-2005 academic year to only three reported this past year.

TN: Teacher Disclosed Misconduct Investigation

Hamilton County: Metro Didn't Call About Teacher
Reported by Sara Dorsey
POSTED: 4:19 pm CDT March 30, 2009
UPDATED: 5:03 pm CDT March 30, 2009
http://www.wsmv.com/news/19048211/detail.html

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Did the Metro school system miss some serious clues when it hired a teacher already under indictment for sex crimes?

Donelson Middle School teacher Ronald E. Boykin was arrested Friday, accused of abusing two local boys. But he got that job with Metro with an outstanding warrant for sex crimes in Chattanooga.

With just a couple of phone calls, Channel 4 uncovered a lot of clues that the school system background check apparently could not.

One of those clues is the teacher's application with Metro. He wrote on his application that he had been under investigation for misconduct in the past.

Other clues come from what his old school system has to say. But they said no one from Metro ever called them.

Boykin's past started to unravel when Metro police pulled him over a week ago and discovered 2006 warrants for his arrest in Chattanooga on rape and sexual battery by an authority figure charges.

"He went through all the background checks," said Olivia Brown, Metro schools. "There was no indication on any of the checks that were done that there was anything in his background."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said he worked for two years at Donelson Middle because Boykin was charged in Hamilton County but never arrested. Warrants and arrest history are different.

"Unfortunately, the database that holds the arrest warrant information is in a separate law enforcement-sensitive database that is not searched for a civilian employer," said Kristin Helm of TBI.

One call to Hamilton County schools by Channel 4 netted Boykin's suspension letter that mentioned misconduct and Boykin's own resignation letter that said he stepped down because the investigation was taking too long.

Both are public records.

On his Metro schools application, Boykin alerted the school that he left amid allegations of misconduct. A Hamilton County schools spokesperson said no one from Metro Nashville schools ever called to inquire about Boykin.

"What I cannot tell you is how that information was then followed up on by the school district, because we don't have that information yet, but that is something that we are definitely trying to find out," Brown said.

The TBI said its background checks worked as intended, since Boykin lacked a true criminal history.

"The process would be that they would have been called. Now, whether or not they were called, they say they weren't, that is what we are trying to determine now," Brown said.

Boykin is on unpaid leave.

His one-year teaching permit expired last August. A spokesperson with the Department of Education said Boykin applied for an alternative teaching license in October but has not completed the requirements to receive it.

Action Alert:Open Letter to Tennessee Parents/Advocates from PTAVE

An Open Letter to Tennesseans about Abuse of Schoolchildren

From Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education

It has come to our attention that the Memphis Academy for Health Sciences, a charter school in Memphis, Tennessee, has a discipline policy involving a public buttocks-beating ritual. The event occurs weekly. Viewers include children enrolled at the school. The ostensible purpose of this activity is to discourage student misbehavior. The effects on children, however, according to the overwhelming preponderance of research-based evidence, are exactly the opposite. An authoritative resource on this subject can be found on the Web site of the Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire. See: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/.

We believe that corporal punishment at MAHS is a just-under-the-radar form of lewd entertainment of the kind one encounters in venues targeting adult-only audiences. Hitting children on the buttocks with a board has nothing to do with education or improving children’s behavior, and not one teacher training program in Tennessee instructs future teachers in the correct method for doing it. In addition to the psychological damage it causes, the risk of serious physical injury is high. Typical injuries to schoolchildren resulting from school corporal punishment can be viewed on this Web page: www.nospank.net/violatn.htm (WARNING: Some viewers find these images profoundly disturbing. Do not upon this page if children are present.)

We wish to remind Tennesseans who are concerned about the quality of education in their state that the habit of child beating closely correlates with high rates of school drop-out, poverty, illiteracy, domestic violence and crime. We believe the schools should be setting a better standard.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jordan Riak, Exec. Dir., Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE); P.O. Box 1033, Alamo, CA 94507; Tel: 925-831-1661; On the Web at www.nospank.net

TN: Child Bruised From Teacher's Paddling

/17/2009 Reported By Jonathan Martin

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. -- A kindergarten teacher in Macon County has been suspended for a week after her bosses said she paddled a girl so hard it left bruises.

Video: Teacher Suspended After Child Bruised

Micky Biggers said he has never had a problem with his 5-year-old daughter, Courtney, being spanked at school if she is acting up, but feels what happened to her was far beyond corporal punishment.

"There were bruises on her butt. What did they do to her?" asked Biggers.

Courtney is in kindergarten at Fairlane Elementary in Lafayette. School officials said last Thursday the child was misbehaving and making barking noises in the cafeteria.

The child's teacher, Teresa Gregory, paddled her, but minutes later another teacher reportedly overheard Courtney tell her classmate the first spanking didn't even hurt.

Gregory then paddled her again, this time so hard that bruises were left on the girl's bottom.
Her father took cell phone photos to prove the child’s injuries.

"Common sense would tell you if somebody says it doesn’t hurt, you don’t continue to whoop them until it does," said Biggers.

Macon County Director of Schools Darrel Law admits the teacher used poor judgment and may have acted out of anger. He said the girl should not have been paddled a second time.

"The bruises initiated because of the second paddling, and she didn't have any intention to bruise a child at all," said Law.

Gregory has been suspended for five days without pay, but Biggers said that is a slap on the wrist.

He said his daughter is now afraid to go to school.

"If I was to abuse my child, or someone else was to abuse my child, they would be behind bars. They would be picked up for abuse or assault," said Biggers.

Gregory apologized to the girl's parents and Courtney has been removed from her class.

Lafayette police are investigating the case. The district attorney will decide whether the teacher faces any criminal charges.

The Macon County school board plans to meet next month to review the district's policies on corporal punishment.

TN: Metro teacher suspended for taping child's mouth shut

By JAIME SARRIO • The Tennessean • February 11, 2009
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090211/NEWS0401/90211025

A third-grade Metro Nashville teacher is on paid leave after he confessed to taping several students' mouths shut and taping another student to a chair.

Kevin Ray, a teacher at Park Avenue Elementary, was suspended Feb. 6 after he reported the incident to the principal, said June Keel, head of human resources for Metro Schools. Ray could not immediately be reached for comment.

Keel said Ray reported the incident after realizing it was not an appropriate form of discipline. He allegedly taped the students with packaging tape after they would not quit talking and taped one little girl to the chair while she took a test.

District officials are investigating the case and said they expect to have a decision on Ray's punishment by the end of the week.

This is Ray’s first year teaching in Metro Schools. Park Avenue is located in North Nashville and has an enrollment of about 228 students.

Principal Deltina Braden declined to comment.

Contact Jaime Sarrio at 615-726-5964 or jsarrio@tennessean.com

TN: State issues restraint rules for special ed students

Law aims to keep disabled children safe
By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • January 18, 2009
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090118/NEWS04/901180375&s=d&page=10#pluckcomments

Felicia Burk has homeschooled her 11-year-old son with autism since he had an outburst at school in September and ended up handcuffed and in the back of a police car.

His Murfreesboro school had called police to try to get him under control.

Burk said restraint only escalates and prolongs Heith's wild behavior. Also, it went against his individual education plan — drawn up for all special education students to spell out how to help them succeed in school.

Debates about restraint or even isolation to control behavioral explosions of special education students are not new in Tennessee, which had no laws or rules governing the use of restraint or isolation of special education students.

A new state law effective this month attempts to change that. The aim of the Special Education Isolation and Restraint Modernization and Behavioral Supports Act is to keep students safe from unreasonable, unsafe or unwarranted discipline.

And a national advocacy group is focusing attention on the issue, releasing a report last week that highlights a notorious Nashville-area case from 2007.

In Sumner County, children were being isolated in 4-by-3½-foot plywood boxes that were placed in 12 schools. A parent notified the state's Disability Law and Advocacy Center, which worked with the district to create what are known as calming areas to use when children get unruly. The boxes then were dismantled.

Advocates from the Disability Coalition on Education and the Arc of Tennessee have pushed for years to prohibit discipline methods that include sitting on students as restraint or putting them in a locked room.

The new rules allow districts to restrain or isolate under certain conditions. Among steps they prohibit are tie-down straps, use of locked or barricaded rooms, or any restraint that restricts air.

The State Board of Education will have a first reading of the proposed rules at its Jan. 30 meeting in Nashville.

Still, many advocates and parents would like to see even stronger state and federal rules. Burk wants restraint outlawed.

"Restraint is not changing the behavior, but is just interrupting a behavior at that time," said Burk, who also works in special education and is a behavioral analyst. "I understand restraint may be necessary in an emergency situation, but we need to call in every available resources to make sure it does not happen again."

Children in locked closet
The Disability Law and Advocacy Center, the state's protection and advocacy group, averages five or more calls a month from parents with complaints about special education programs inappropriately restraining or isolating their children.

"We've had cases where children were put in locked closets — either the door was locked or objects were used to block the door," said Sherry Wilds, attorney for the Disability Law and Advocacy Center. "We've run into situations where restraint and seclusion were used inappropriately and sometimes to a dangerous level."

It was a call from a parent that got the Advocacy Center involved in the 2007 Sumner County case.

Discovery of the plywood "seclusion boxes" created a firestorm. The district removed the boxes from the 12 schools and worked with the Advocacy Center to find acceptable alternatives.

"They changed to calming rooms with bean bag chairs and blankets," said Martha Lafferty, a managing attorney for the Advocacy Center.

Norma Dam, social education coordinator for Sumner, said special education teachers are trained three times every year on how to deal with restraint and isolation. They no longer use isolation rooms but sometimes remove the child to a quiet, divided area of the room.

"You try to remove them from whatever it is that is agitating them at the moment and given them time to cool down so they can re-enter the class," Dam said.

In another case from 2007, a teen died of strangulation after being restrained by a staff member at Chad Youth Enhancement Center near Clarksville.

School shouldn't hurt
The report that highlighted the Sumner case, titled "School is Not Supposed to Hurt," was released last week by a group called the National Disability Rights Network.

Across the nation, the report said, 32 states have rules or laws of some sort that spell out use of restraint and isolation. But advocates say policies are either unclear or inadequate.

Jean Hudson, an attorney of abuse and neglect for the Rights Network, said even the states that have laws sometimes allow dangerous practices such as restraint that forces the child to the ground, face down.

"This really is a national issue," Hudson said. "We need federal laws in place with at least bottom-line standards."

In Tennessee, advocates want the law to require that schools notify parents about any use of restraint. Currently, the law says parents have to be notified only if it is included in the student's education plan, said Holly Lu Conant Rees, chairman of the Disability Coalition on Education.

Conant Rees urges parents and advocates to attend the Board of Education meeting to voice their concerns about the issue and the proposed rules.

"We have to put a face with this issue and convey the urgency of getting it right because kids have died due to restraint," Conant Rees said.

Burk, the Murfreesboro parent, said she would like to see nonphysical behavioral intervention used to deal with special education students. She wants her son to return to school but worries how restraint will be used.

Attempts to reach representatives of Murfreesboro City Schools last week were unsuccessful.

"We have to teach children it is OK to be mad, OK to be angry, but it is not OK to hit, run away or destroy property," Burk said. "But we have to search for alternatives to restraint and isolation."

Contact Christina E. Sanchez at 615-726-5961 or cesanchez@tennessean.com.

TN: City school board elects officers, addresses policy

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

http://www.stategazette.com/story/1486496.html

The Dyersburg City School Board elected officers at its regular December meeting, unanimously voting President Randy Prince, Vice-Chair Amy Heckethorn and Secretary/Treasurer Nettie Thomas to continue their present roles in the organization.

Board members also addressed several policies and procedures, amending them to align with guidelines set forth by the Tennessee School Board Association and discussing how they apply to students and educators in the Dyersburg City School System.

Notable changes in current policies included guidelines concerning hazing, corporal punishment, registered sex offenders and differentiated pay.

* Bullying/Hazing-

In the Student discrimination/harassment and bullying/intimidation policy, the system added one sentence concerning hazing or harassment.

"The reason this is here is to make sure we don't have any problems," said Ramer. "We are changing 'hazing' activities to say 'Coaches and other employees of the school district shall not encourage, permit, condone or tolerate hazing activities.'"

* Corporal punishment-

On the issue of corporal punishment, board members chose not to amend the policy to prohibit paddling even though schools in the system have not paddled students for two consecutive school years.

"We do not paddle kids," said Superintendent Lloyd Ramer. "We have not paddled kids in two years and we are not paddling now. Frankly, all this says is we cannot paddle."

"If we are not doing it, why take it off the table?" asked Hubert Jones, who said in the past, the practice had been an advantage for parents, educators and students in the school system. "There might come a time when it's needed again."

"What I think is fair is for you to ask me to come back to you in a year (with this policy),"said Ramer.

Joe Yates made the motion to further study the issue of corporal punishment for one year, with Jones adding a second. The motion passed with three votes in favor by Yates, Jones and Twilla. Newly elected board member Sherrie McElrath abstained. Nettie Thomas and Amy Heckethorn were absent from the meeting.

* Registered sex offenders-

"Three changes have been made in that law," said Ramer. "Parents who are registered sex offenders may drop their kids off and pick them up from school and attend parent/teacher conferences, but they have to have permission to be on our campus."

The policy states that parents who are registered sex offenders may go only to the front office when they are on campus.

Other changes in restrictions for registered sex offenders include 'No registered sex offender whose victim was a minor shall come on, about, or within 1,000 feet of a local school's property line, nor may they loiter within 500 feet of school buildings or grounds."

And registered sex offenders who are "employees of third parties may enter the school grounds temporarily during school hours for the limited purpose of making mail, food or other deliveries."

* differentiated pay plan

The city system did not approve the same Differentiated Pay Plan as the Dyer County School Board, but instead drafted their own after objection from Yates at the last board meeting.

"Joe, I want you know we created a policy just for you," said Ramer.

The plan allows for three $1,000 bonuses for teachers completing and re-hiring for assignments identified as "hard to staff."

The policy states that currently, "Dyersburg City has no schools identified as hard to staff, however this plan will allow Dyersburg City Schools the flexibility to employ qualified personnel in any future hard to staff positions."

Board members also approved policies:

* addressing acceptable computer and Internet use for faculty, staff and students

* establishing a Code of Ethics

"We already had a Code of Ethics," said Ramer. "The law says we had to indicate to the state that we have one."

* encouraging energy management conservation throughout the system

* incorporating new state laws concerning fundraising for booster clubs

"We have had great cooperation from our boosters already," said Ramer. "I appreciate that."

* altering extended school-day programs from 12 months to 10 months

* identifying opportunities for parents and families to participate and support classroom instruction

"The parent/family involvement (policy says we) welcome parents (to participate in their child's education) but in a role we help them establish," said Ramer, who said the policy is influenced by No Child Left Behind legislation.

* clarifying the use of private vehicles for field trips and discouraging students who drive from completing errands during the school day.

* restricting registered sex offenders from loitering within 500 feet of school buildings or grounds, allowing a parent who is a registered sex offender to drop off and pick up their child from school and come onto campus for parent/teacher conferences. Parents who are registered sex offenders may come to the front office only at those appointed times.

Board members also discussed:

* the minimum insurance coverage required for parents volunteering for field trips

* brainstorming with the Dyersburg Education Association to find a way to legally provide contact information for retired and employed teachers without violating confidentiality laws.

"We want our teachers to be accessible by parents," said Ramer. "(But) this is the law. Jonathan and I will come up with something in the policy."

* A recent vote in the delegate assembly concerning permissive legislation allowing taxing school boards. Members of the city school board stressed their satisfaction with support from the city and stated they would not consider implementing taxing authority if the issue passes.

"This is going to make headlines," said Prince. "There are 38 states that do have taxing authority. Tennessee is not one of them. The TSBA overwhelmingly (voted in favor of this issue.) The TSBA convention reminded us how fortunate we are in Dyersburg and Dyer County."

"We think the city has been very good to us," said Ramer. "We appreciate the support of the mayor and aldermen."

"The primary purpose of this board should be for the children, not for fundraising," said Twilla.

* Prompted by discussion at the state school board convention, Prince also reminded board members that it is inappropriate to speak on behalf of the school board when out in the community.

Prince made a motion to pass changes to all policies with the exception of corporal punishment. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Upcoming events include the School Board Staff Dinner on Feb. 2, the board retreat on Feb. 7, a regular school board meeting on March 2, the NSBA convention April 4-7, a regular school board meeting on April 6 and the annual retirement dinner on May 4.