Well, I wish I could say that this horrifying story is a surprise, but I was so not surprised when I saw that it occurred in Floriduh, my home sweet home.
I can see why it might not meet the standards for emotional abuse depending on how those are written, but it clearly meets the standard of teacher misconduct. Here is an excerpt from the Florida code of ethics for teachers:
“The safety of Florida’s public school students is of the utmost importance. The Department of Education is committed to working closely with local school districts to ensure that Florida public schools and classrooms are safe and healthy environments for our children. Students are not only protected by their teachers, school staff, principals, and resource officers, but also by district personnel, state officials and law enforcement officers.
While teachers are highly valued professionals and members of our communities, we must all work together to hold Florida teachers to a high standard of ethics and principles. Unfortunately, teacher misconduct occurs and is a serious concern for communities, schools, school districts and states across the country. If you suspect that a child has been harmed or is threatened with harm by a licensed teacher, contact the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) toll-free at 1–800-96-ABUSE. Further information about reporting abuse may be found on the DCF Web site at http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/abuse. You may also contact your local school district because each district has its own process for handling allegations of teacher misconduct.”
Clearly, this teacher violated that code. She not only did not keep the child safe, the teacher created an unhealthy environment and actively participated in the child being harmed. The parents should call DCF if they did not, and they should file complaints with the local school board. The conduct was so outrageous I think they should try to force the board to fire the teacher and strengthen its policies. I also think they should sue the teacher and the school board to recover costs for professional care to help ameliorate the emotional damage to the child.
Since Florida also leads the nation in the number of trial lawyers, I am sure one or more have already contacted them.
What a place. Sometimes th alligators don’t stay in the lakes! They teach school.