Lawsuit: Teacher taped special-needs students mouth shut

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Detroit Free Press


USA TODAY NETWORK Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press
Published 9:04 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2017 | Updated 9:04 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2017

DETROIT — A Michigan teacher taped shut the mouth of a student with cerebral palsy as part of a pattern of abuse, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday.

Nesa Johnson, a teacher at High Point School in Ann Arbor, "literally taped ... shut" the student's mouth in March 2016 to keep her quiet because she was "making noises" consistent with her disability, according to the seven-figure lawsuit filed in Detroit by the student's mother, Doreen Smith, against Johnson, her supervisor and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

Johnson then photographed the student and texted the photo to the student's mother, with a caption reading: "Help. She won't be quiet!!!!," according to the lawsuit and attached exhibits.

The student is 26 but unable to speak and appears much younger at just under 5 feet tall and 62 pounds, according to the lawsuit. In addition to cerebral palsy, the student has cognitive disorders, a history of seizures and an inability to speak or move her hands and arms, which leaves her "totally dependent on others for her care including such basic needs as feeding and toileting," the lawsuit states.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/02/lawsuit-teacher-taped-special-needs-students-mouth-shut/827891001/

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Video:

Lawsuit alleges Ann Arbor teacher taped mouth of special needs student shut
Alan Campbell
10:17 PM, Nov 1, 2017
5:05 AM, Nov 2, 2017

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/washtenaw-county/lawsuit-alleges-ann-arbor-teacher-taped-mouth-of-special-needs-student-shut?autoplay=true

[Stuart G]

1. k and r...What can be said? nothing...

[TomCADem]

2. Perhaps Complying With Betsy Devos' New Policies?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/10/21/devos-rescinds-72-guidance-documents-outlining-rights-for-disabled-students/?utm_term=.e4c67a935467

DeVos rescinds 72 guidance documents outlining rights for disabled students

The Education Department has rescinded 72 policy documents that outline the rights of students with disabilities as part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate regulations it deems superfluous.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services wrote in a newsletter Friday that it had “a total of 72 guidance documents that have been rescinded due to being outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective — 63 from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and 9 from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).” The documents, which fleshed out students’ rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act, were rescinded Oct. 2.

A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did not respond to requests for comment.

Advocates for students with disabilities were still reviewing the changes to determine their impact. Lindsay E. Jones, the chief policy and advocacy officer for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said she was particularly concerned to see guidance documents outlining how schools could use federal money for special education removed.

[keithbvadu2]

3. Send the student to a Christian voucher school.

Send the student to a Christian voucher school.

They claim that they care.

[Stonepounder]

4. It happens. I had have a grandson who,

when he was about 5 and in day care (his mother, our daughter) was a widow and the day care was just down the road from where she worked. She later discovered that one day one of the teachers decided that our grandson wasn't lying down for his nap promptly enough and duct-taped him to his mat.

The incident was reported to the head of the day care who issued a reprimand, but did not (as required by law) report it to the police or notify our daughter. She only found out later in a casual conversation with another teacher who assumed that our daughter knew all about it.

Long story short, daughter sued and won. Lawyer took about half the settlement. Teacher received a short jail stay and community service. Day care lost its license and owner was forbidden from running another day care. Owner transferred license for day care to her husband, reopened all her day cares (except for the one where our grandson had gone), as was back in business in jig time.

Story got brief play on local news.

[kimbutgar]

5. I have regular ed students who make noises all the time

I would never ever think of taping their mouths shut. To do this to a disabled person is appalling. I hope this teacher gets the books thrown at her and experiences jail time.