Teacher accused of mistreating special needs students at Randolph school

RANDOLPH, Mass. — A special needs teacher has been suspended amid allegations of non-sexual abuse at a school in Randolph.

Parents of the JFK Elementary School were notified in an email Monday.

One mother, who asked not to be identified, told Boston 25 News that her 6-year-old daughter is in the accused teacher's class. She said her daughter suffered scratches on her arm while in that classroom.

"It’s like, you can't sleep. You have rocks in your stomach. How to you send your child to school every day? You feel like you failed them," the mother said.

Her daughter has "been emotional," she said.

"She's been even more clingy. She keeps saying, 'Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,'" the mother said.

Another parent, who only wanted to be identified as "Elizabeth", says she is angry about what is going on. The students are autistic, most of them are non-verbal, and Elizabeth is angry with the way this is being handled.

"I'm left devastated with so many unanswered questions," she said.

Her seven-year-old autistic son was recently removed from the special needs class on Jan. 17, when she found out the boy was near the cafeteria, unsupervised and crying. She said the teacher yelled at him, and kicked him out of the class.

"I don't know what thoughts were going through his head. I know he was crying. He was left not at-ease, not knowing where to go, it made it like a traumatic event," Elizabeth explained.

In the superintendent's letter to parents, this apparently was not an isolated case. There are other parents, and other autistic students who were affected by the teacher's behavior.

The interim superintendent wrote, "I recently learned of several complaints alleging inappropriate mistreatment of students (of a non-sexual nature) in a classroom at the JFK Elementary School. These allegations are deeply concerning, and the District is taking prompt action to address this."

"We need to hold everyone accountable, these are the most vulnerable kids in the whole district, they can't advocate for themselves," Elizabeth said.

She is contacting DCF and she is talking to a legal group. Elizabeth wants her rights and her sons rights protected.

Cox Media Group