Parents in West Texas are expressing their outrage over alleged child abuse at a special education school in Midland.
The case started in early September, when Midland Independent School District's Special Education Director Lynda Rhodes called parents Daniela and Alfredo Santos. The director said they were investigating reports of abuse at the school that involved the couple's four-year-old daughter and her classmates.
Texas Parents Outraged Over Alleged Child Abuse
All of the students in question were said to have special needs and are known to live with disabilities. The young children's instructors allegedly restrained the students in their chairs for longer than they should have been.
The parents noted that the troubling scenes were captured on video footage and showcased details that district officials previously omitted in earlier phone calls. The couple declined to comment further on the matter due to a non-disclosure agreement that they made with the district before being allowed to watch the videos, according to My San Antonio.
In a statement, Daniela said that she saw her child "screaming like crazy, crying. You can tell she needed help." However, the parent said that despite the young girl's pleas, the instructors at the school provided no assistance.
Read more: Oklahoma Child's Parents Arrested After 6-Year-Old Boy Told Neighbors of Alleged Abuse at Home
Following the official investigation into the case, six teachers have already resigned, and the school board also fired Cynthia Rodriguez earlier this week. Rodriguez is the school's principal, who faced abuse allegations as well.
District officials maintained their stance that they took the appropriate steps after learning about the incidents in reporting the issue to the state. On the other hand, advocates for students with disabilities argue that the decade-old law that puts cameras in classrooms with special needs should be revisited by officials, LMT Online reported.
Filing a Lawsuit against the School District
Many of the families whose children were involved in the latest incident are demanding that the teachers responsible for the abuse be prosecuted. However, the district's attorney told them that there was not enough evidence to criminally charge them of a crime.
Now, 15 families are making the effort themselves by suing the district for $500,000 for each student affected by the alleged abuse. The lawsuit argues that district officials ignored "evidence of abuse" captured by cameras inside the classroom, noting they "knowingly failed to report this abuse and neglect."
It also says that the Midland Independent School District placed vulnerable children in the hands of predators, looked away as abuse happened, and betrayed every parent who trusted it with their kids, as per the Texas Tribune.
