Shocking moment teacher is caught on video 'repeatedly bullying a special needs student'

#GeorgeRanchHighSchool #bullyingaspecialneedsstudent
The distressed family of a Texas boy with special needs has released a shocking video in which his teacher appears to repeatedly bully the boy by throwing him to the floor, forcing him to pick up a chair she keeps pushing over and kicking him.

The footage released on Facebook shows the boy facing what looks like a campaign of abuse at the hands of his teacher during December 2018 - with the boy's mother saying the educator treated her son 'like an animal'.

The special education teacher, identified by the family's attorney as Regina Thurston, worked at George Ranch High School in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD).
One video clip appears to show Thurston throwing the child to the ground after he had overturned his desk. The teacher then calmly returns to sitting at her desk while the child remains in a heap on the floor.

More shocking footage appears to show the educator kicking the student in a hallway in front of other students and staff before pushing the child up against a wall.
In another clip the teacher is seen repeatedly throwing a chair on the floor in a classroom and shouting at the boy to 'pick it up'.

'Pick all that stuff up. I'm gonna make you pick up this whole room,' she is heard shouting.

In the clip, the teacher also appears to be threatening the child with violence if he does not do as he is told.

'If you throw it, I will hit you,' the voice appears to be saying.
The student, who his mother says 'has special needs and cannot communicate in the same way that most of us do' is seen complying with the demands and at one point is seen walking on his knees as the teacher shouts down at him.

At one point three other adults are in the room witnessing the alleged abuse and do nothing to intervene.

The school knew of the abuse but failed to report it with the teacher taking advantage of the boy's challenging communication skills to get away with the abuse, the mother claims in the video.

She said: 'The school's administration was well aware of the abuse but did not inform the board, CPS or law enforcement'.
She added: 'The teacher is being harsh, cruel and treating my son as if he were an animal.'

The family is demanding answers over how LCISD allowed this to happen to the vulnerable child.

Sam Wesley and Associates, PLLC., representing the student and his family at their Special Education Due Process Hearing, made the footage public on Facebook on behalf of the family 'to make sure this NEVER happens again in a Special Education classroom'.

Lindsey Sanders, community relations director for the LCISD, said in a statement Tuesday that Thurston was immediately placed on administrative leave as the school investigated the allegations. Thurston then resigned in January 2019.

The statement said: 'We believe all classrooms in Lamar CISD should be a safe place for our students. Clearly, the District does not condone Ms. Thurston's treatment of the student as shown in these videos, which is why swift action was taken. ... Following this incident and prior to the start of this school year, all campus administrators attended a training that reinforced the high expectations we have for our staff to maintain a safe, nurturing environment on all our campuses.'

Thurston's attorney, Susan Soto, said the former teacher denied the allegations of abuse and claimed the videos were 'sensationalized'.

'The teacher’s behavior was intended to correct a problem, but it has been taken out of context and sensationalized. Only the full video is a fair representation of what occurred in the classroom that day, and neither the student’s parents nor their lawyer have provided the public with full information. The student had a good relationship with [the teacher] and, in fact, hugs [the teacher] with affection in a portion of the video that was withheld,' she said in a statement.

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