To: West Virginia Board of Education, The West Virginia State House, The West Virginia State Senate, and Governor Jim Justice
West Virginia Board of Education Stop Abuse by Teachers
In one of our local schools, teachers have been locking children in a bathroom as a form of getting the children to calm down or to punish them. These teachers were investigated by the Board of Education's Institutional Investigative Unit. The teachers were not reprimanded or prosecuted because the IIU felt that they were not "caregivers" and therefore were not considered abusers. They are still working with children of various ages and continuing this practice with no oversight.
Why is this important?
I know a family who has personally been affected by this. And many other families who are not aware of what has happened to their preschool and older children in these state run schools. The terror that these children feel when locked in a small space, screaming and begging to be let out, has left a long-lasting trauma that will be difficult to overcome. in their lives, they will feel fear of small spaces, people of authority, and generally fear of people and institutions. How can the Board of Education let these people continue to abuse our young, impressionable children in this way? Schools are supposed to be a safe haven, teachers are supposed to use their education and knowledge of children to provide them with the best education available. Not to abuse children who are too young to understand how their behaviors may be harmful to others. Not to lock these troubled children in bathrooms and other small spaces because, as teachers, they don't want the hassle of taking care of our most vulnerable and difficult children. Stand up to bullies in our school system that perpetuate this abuse, those that call out children in front of their peers, those that cannot handle the stresses of being a teacher, or that just don't care about our children and their futures. Bullying and abuse are not acceptable from our children, and they are punished for bullying. Why, then, are the teachers and school administrators not punished for violating that rule?