Special Education News in Brief

Parents of Pupils With Disabilities Sue Tenn. District Over Restraints

By The Associated Press — November 03, 2009 1 min read
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The parents of five students with disabilities have filed lawsuits against the Sumner County, Tenn., board of education and a special education teacher charged with child abuse.

Sumner County Schools spokesman Jeremy Johnson said last week that the teacher at Station Camp Elementary in Gallatin, was suspended without pay in April after “some pretty serious allegations” were made against her. She was arrested and charged with three counts of child abuse in August following an investigation by the Gallatin police.

Mr. Johnson wouldn’t discuss the lawsuits, but they accuse the teacher of abuse ranging from improper restraint to force feeding the children to the point of vomiting. The lawsuit claims the teacher also abused the students in previous years and that parents weren’t told about the abuse until the criminal investigation against her.

A version of this article appeared in the November 04, 2009 edition of Education Week as Parents of Pupils With Disabilities Sue Tenn. District Over Restraints

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