"I'd just like for them to be in my shoes for 5 minutes. I'm so mad right now," says Sandra Baker.
Baker is angry. She claims her 9-year-old autistic son Christopher was put into a duffle bag by a teacher as a form of therapy at Mercer County Intermediate School in December. Baker went before the Board of Education at it's monthly meeting Thursday night and presented an online petition with more than 170,000 signatures in support of her. She's calling for the alleged abuse to stop.
"No child should have to be put in a bag and tied up and threw in the hall like trash and that's how my son was treated," comments Baker.
Baker says she's pulled her son Christopher out of school and won't let him go back until the teacher responsible is fired. She also wants proper training for all special education teachers. But, the school board says it's concluded its investigation and put the issue to bed.
"We had addressed this issue before it ever became a national news story. As is often the case with specialized fields, things appear different to laypersons as they do to others trained and experienced in that area," says board member Jim Stinnett.
And this has Baker even more upset.
"I don't see anything that's been accomplished. Not the first thing. My son is going through trauma everyday. I'm going through trauma everyday over this and they act like it's no big deal and it makes me mad," explains Baker.
Wilma Thomas is the president of the Mercer County Education Association. She says parents of special education students are highly involved in their individualized learning plans. Thomas defended the teacher at the center of the alleged incident and received a round of applause.
"If it is at that school, that is an appropriate method of restraint and, maybe, Mrs. Baker didn't understand that," says Thomas.
Baker says she and her attorney vow to continue her fight so this alleged abuse doesn't happen to any other kids.
"I'm going to keep pursuing what I'm doing until I get what I want," explains Baker.
