school blues - vent

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2004
school blues - vent
2
Mon, 09-19-2005 - 3:35pm

Today... DS who attends special day kindgergarten was kicked in the arm by another boy. The teacher tells me the other boy did this because he was angry and that ds happened to be sitting there. This same boy has also hit ds three other times and ds never initiates violent behavior.

Well today was bad because ds started to cry and had to see the nurse. After, he returned to the library where the rest of the class was checking out books...

I happen to be a walking through the library and witnessed my own son hitting the librarian. I about lost it and hollered his name - and this scared him so he started to cry again.

The other boy - his mom picked him up early. Teachers didn't punish this boy except to take him away from the situation. My concern is this... why is the violent boy not suspended or expelled? Do I have any rights?

Any advice or thoughts?

Kim

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 09-19-2005 - 6:05pm

Well,

Suspension or expulsion will not neccessarily work for a special needs child. A school can suspend a SN child only to meet for safety to decide how to manage the behavior. Was your son suspended or expelled for hitting the librarian?

Rather the school should be having a behavior plan for this child. You can mention your concerns to the teacher. That they should be doing more to protect your sons safety. I would even question whether or not they have started a behavior intervention plan for the other child.

I would question what the school is doing to make your son safe, but I wouldn't expect suspension or expulsion as a disciplinary action on a young child with special needs. If would get him out of the classroom for a bit for safety but it really wouldn't teach him anything. He needs a specific behavior plan for that.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2004
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 5:25pm

Hi and thank you for your response. I do agree that suspension may not be the solution. But in my son's defense I'm new at working a system that is not always perfect. I'll be meeting with the teacher and I'm expecting a call from the principal.

DS was not allowed to check out the book he wanted and can not return to the library for two weeks. He must also apologize to the Librairan. The other boy was simply isolated from the class. Which, for a kid on the spectrum may seem just fine - I don't really know because I don't know the child's history. So I really can't judge.. but when you know your child has been hurt it's hard to be objective.

I appreciate your thoughts and I'll look into my local laws and rights - which I should have done prior to the start of this school year.

Kind regards,
Kim