A school principal is terminated after dragging a special education student through the hallways by grabbing him from his ankles.
The principal was dismissed with a 5-2 vote, as opponents claimed she was not given a chance to justify her actions.
School Principal Drags Special Student in a Hallway
In the inhumane incident of November 4, 2019, a Tennessee school principal was captured on a camera dragging a student through the hallway.
Reportedly, the student did not comply with the requests of the principal, which prompted her to take this violent measure.
The incident happened in the Walter Hill Elementary school, where principal Helen Campbell teamed up with a teacher, Bonnie Marlar, against the student.
While both the teacher and the principal faced child abuse charges, a judge dismissed these allegations later on. However, both of them were suspended from their duties by the school board.
Someone needs to drag those women on the floor out of the school. https://t.co/7ITOsnqWpd
— Jules (@julievriahi) May 28, 2022
Bill Spurlock, the director of the school district, claimed allegations against the individuals are not limited to child abuse only.
In fact, they were also involved in tampering with government records; they tried to delete the footage of the incident after dragging the student.
Thus, the individuals are now suspended, due to their unprofessional conduct, Spurlock added.
Even the principal did not contest the charges of tampering with government records; she will now serve a probation term. According to the report of the school board, the victim was suffering from autism.
Teachers Performed Violent Acts Against the Student
This was not the only human rights abuse performed by the individuals.
When all of them were present in the administration office, both the individuals grabbed the boy from the loopholes in his pants.
Afterward, all of them left the office; both individuals grabbed him by his wrists and arms.
Eventually, they started dragging him for nearly 570 feet. During this episode, the bare skin of the boy rubbed on the ground.
The coordinator of special education at the impacted school district, Kate Kasuboski, claimed the behavior of the student did not demand emergency solutions at all.
Likewise, the coordinator stated dragging students was never a “proper restraint.”
Despite this brutal episode, one board member Tammy Sharp was not in favor of terminating the principal, as she was a “phenomenal principal.”
Tennessee schools has a weird thing. Where they lock you in a room, threaten to shut off the light, & close the shutter on the door. In an effort to claim you down, and if you refuse or prove difficult to drag in their. They would threaten to call the cops on you.
— Daemonia (@xxxdaemoniaxxx) October 14, 2021
She further said the district did not give the principal an opportunity to defend herself, which should not be the case in any investigation.
Sharp also mentioned teachers are now looking for more jobs as they are afraid of the way they are being treated in schools.
According to the Tennessee state laws, teachers can use “reasonable” corporal punishment against students only if they disturb the “discipline and order” within schools.
However, they are not allowed to do that in the case of disabled students without the written permission of the parents.
