PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — Special education issues in Wood
County schools will be reviewed following an incident in which a teacher
placed a box labeled "bad kid fort" around a student.
Media
outlets report that the county Board of Education pledged the review at
its regular meeting Tuesday. Board members also apologized for the
incident.
Beth Dean and Jeff Richards say a social studies teacher
at Parkersburg High School placed the cardboard box around their
15-year-old son's seat because of his behavior in the classroom. The
teen has Asperger's syndrome.
Dean told the board Tuesday that she
believes her son's civil rights were violated. She also alleged that
the teacher abused and humiliated him.
She said her son did not receive the full services of his individual education plan.
"He's just one student. Just my kid," she said.
Several other parents told the board about problems with their children's individual education plans.
Board
member Jim Fox, who noted his child needs an individual education plan,
said the problem was not limited to the parents who addressed the
board.
Fox said Parkersburg High and county school administrators
have addressed the incident involving Dean and Richards' son. But he
said the board cannot comment on personnel matters.
Board member
Lawrence Hasbargen, a former school administrator, said no child should
experience the humiliation of the "bad kid fort." But he said there is
the "other side of the coin."
"Teachers are in a room with 30
pupils, some with special needs," he said. "It's difficult to meet those
needs in a 45-minute block. It's not an excuse. It's a fact of life."
Board
member Tad Wilson called for the creation of a task force to study how
special education services can be expanded and their delivery improved.
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