A video appears to show an employee of a school in Dayton, Ohio, chasing an autistic boy and hitting him on the head.
This incident occurred Aug. 21 at the Rosa Parks Early Learning Center, according to the attorney of the boy’s family, CNN reported Thursday. The mother of the boy, Taneisha Monroe, posted the video to Facebook on Sept. 11.
“After 3 weeks I finally got the video of my autistic son being assaulted on his 2nd day of school,” Monroe wrote in a Facebook post accompanying the video. “Be aware that these are the kind of people Dayton Public Schools hire to work with your 3 and 4 year olds, special needs or not!!”
Her tone softened a day later when she thanked everyone on Facebook for supporting her son.
“I’m not saying Rosa Parks is a bad school as a whole,” she said. “My son trusts his teachers and there are other staff that love what they do and work really well with the kids.”
She added that her issue lies with the principal, who she accuses of being slow to notifying her of incident, not obtaining any medical care for her son and lying about the incident. She also said that she was upset with the Dayton Public School system for hiring and placing such staff in their schools.
She concluded her statement by writing, “After finally seeing that video my heart is broken and my feelings are hurt. I just want justice for my baby because he didn’t deserve that.”
The Dayton Public School Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence addressed the incident by releasing a statement claiming that an investigation of the employee captured in the video resulted in their removal.
“The actions seen in the clip are contrary to all employee training, do not promote a culture conducive to learning, and are not tolerated in Dayton Public Schools,” Lawrence said, according to WKEF, a local news outlet. (RELATED: ’30 Seconds…No Phones’: Middle School Teacher Allegedly Facilitated Student Fights In The Classroom)
The district also released a statement that emphasized that the district was taking “additional measures” to make certain that “all 2,300 employees are properly trained and qualified for their positions” to ensure that such incidents do not reoccur. The district’s statement noted that the superintendent is slated to meet with concerned parents soon to discuss the incident and more details.
“As a reminder, the safety of all students is our utmost priority, and we would like to thank families for their support as we work to ensure a safe school environment for all learners,” the district’s statement concluded.
The parents of the child told WKEF that their boy is “under the doctor’s care” but doing fine and still in school. Police have investigated the matter and presented the county prosecutor with a case to consider should charges be brought, according to WKEF.