Louis Bohn Elementary School Alleged to have Abused Child with Special Needs

George and Gia McElroy, parents of a grade schooler with a seizure disorder, filed suit against, Louis Bohn Elementary School that is part of Tracy Unified School District, located in San Joaquin County, California for treating their son G.J. like a circus animal. The suit alleges that the school put him on display in a tent in a public area of the school thereby subjecting him to humiliation and ridicule.  The tent apparently was represented to be a sensory calming area and a means of behavioral intervention.

However, as the suit alleges the tent was placed:

"in the school's multipurpose room, according to the suit. The tent was surrounded with office partitions fastened with duct tape and cafeteria tables turned onto their sides, the suit says. The barricade was near garbage cans, pails of stagnant water in the janitorial closet and heckling schoolchildren, according to the suit."

The parents are seeking monetary damages from the school.

Recently, I have received many upset emails from school personnel objecting to my post School District's Say the Darnedest Things. I welcome these dissenting opinions which criticized my characterization of schools based upon comments that school personnel have actually made. I will repeat what I have said frequently there are many dedicated, competent, and honorable school people who work very hard, often against the odds. However, there are schools and individuals that do simply horrendous things either intentionally or through gross negligence. These deplorable cases need to be highlighted and made public.

The public spin in society and often in the courts is that school personnel are not capable of bad acts.  As with any large institution bad acts occur and culpability should be found.  Schools and their personnel are not immune from criticism or scrutiny or liability. Criticisizing some does not mean to tar all. A spotlight needs to be put on such cases so schools can be viewed in a balanced light for all of the good that do, and held accountable for when they violate the law especially when they harm children.