The Indiana Department of Child Services is investigating an alleged incident of abuse involving a student with a learning disability at South Bend schools’ Muessel Elementary.
According to The Tribune’s reporting partner, WNDU, the incident reportedly happened in a classroom at Muessel on Monday, May 12. The student’s mother said her 8-year-old daughter was whispering to a friend in class “when suddenly a teacher started screaming at her” and allegedly flipped a desk onto the student, the WNDU article says.
The mother said her daughter has a learning disability, the article says, which is a result of lead poisoning the child was diagnosed with at the age of 2.
WNDU said an SBCSC spokesperson confirmed that the district reported the incident to DCS.
“We take reports like these seriously and we are in the process of investigating these allegations. The safety and wellbeing of our students is our priority,” the spokesperson said in a statement to WNDU.
SBCSC added that it can’t comment on personnel matters, but the student’s mother said the teacher has been placed on leave for the rest of the school year, WNDU said.
Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: DCS investigating alleged abuse of Muessel Elementary student in South Bend
Reporting by Rayleigh Deaton, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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