Aldine ISD has placed five employees at Lane School on administrative leave after staff members allegedly dragged a special needs child across a classroom and then hit him.
"My son is non-verbal, he is autistic," Barbara Faulk said. "I have to rely on people to supposedly protect him."
Faulk says when the 8-year-old came home from school with red marks and bruises on his neck, school officials originally told her he had been hit by a bigger kid. She then asked to view the school's surveillance video and says it showed school employees -- not other kids -- roughing up her child.
Faulk says it appeared her son was acting up, and one of the paraprofessionals in his classroom became frustrated. Faulk claims he then violently placed the boy into a time out enclosure.
"He grabbed him by his wrist and began to pull him, dragging him toward the timeout. Then the teacher joins in, grabs his other arm and then they threw him into this box," Faulk said. "That's when I saw the para reaching over the box and hitting at my son."
Aldine ISD says after learning of the incident, school administrators placed two teachers and three paraprofessionals on administrative leave while the district investigates.
"There came a part in the video that was so outrageous and so appalling that their own diagnostician burst into tears and had to leave the room," Faulk said.
The Arc of Greater Houston, an advocacy group for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, says teachers across the state need better training and techniques for dealing with special needs students.
"Everyone needs to be safe within these environments, and if you are not using the proper techniques, people can get hurt," said the group's director of education, Barbara Snead. "I can't think of a case where you would ever drag anyone across the floor appropriately."
The child has been placed into another classroom at Lane School. His mother hopes he will be moved to a new school altogether. She says the district should fire the staff members involved.
"I don't believe they should be working with children. They don't have the temperament to work with children," Faulk said.