AUSTIN, Texas — At the Texas Capitol on Monday, parents of special needs children called on lawmakers to pass bills to keep their children safe in public schools.
One of those parents was the mother of Quintin Proctor. The Round Rock ISD student was grabbed and thrown into an isolation room by an administrator last April.
After telling his mother what happened, she hired an attorney who got video of the incident. His mother said the teachers didn't report the incident until after she got the video.
It is against the law to physically keep a student from leaving the “cool-off room.” Texas law does prohibit teachers from blocking the door or using force to put kids in timeout.
Advocates say Proctor's story is just one of many. Jean Tenbrink shared the story of what happened to her daughter in middle school.
“I later found out she was routinely put in a dark bathroom and frequently restrained,” Tenbrink said. “I had no idea at the time what was happening in the classroom. After multiple failed attempts, I was finally given heavily edited video footage. I witnessed teachers cursing, provoking and demeaning my daughter. I watched male students kick and violate her privacy in the bathroom. I witnessed two teachers hold Leah face down on the floor with both arms behind her back with her legs in the air as she struggled to breathe.”
Lawmakers at the news conference say they will work to pass legislation stopping these types of use of force on students.
Advocates say they also want to require schools to keep video footage longer and make it easier for parents to view the footage.