Parents of a child with cerebral palsy are suing a Florida school that it alleges systematically abused special needs children by putting them inside a "jail" box that was made partially of drywall.
Action News Jax reports that the parents are claiming that teachers at the Love Grove Elementary School regularly isolate special needs children by putting them inside the drywall box, which the students refer to as a "jail" where they're placed for misbehaving.
The family is suing the Duval County public school system, as it alleges that the school's administration was aware that its teachers were using the box, and yet did nothing to stop it. Attorney Aaron Bates, who is representing the family in the lawsuit, tells KPTV that the administration is also at fault for not providing proper training to its teachers for dealing with special needs students.
"The lawsuit says between August 2011 and June 2012 there were 304 instances of seclusion on 120 students with nearly 70% of those students having emotional behavior disorders," reports KPTV. "The lawsuit also claims staff forced the student's legs into the wrong braces, twisting his feet and causing bruising, sores and bleeding."
The child was three years old at the time of his alleged mistreatment by the school.
The school district has so far declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Watch KPTV's report on the lawsuit below.
