Mother accuses Fishers Elementary School of mistreating her first grader

Mom accuses Fishers Elementary School of mistreating her child

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — A mother is claiming staff at Fishers Elementary School mistreated her first grader after the student had an emotional outburst.

Shaneta Grave told I-Team 8 she got a call from the Hamilton Southeastern School District about her daughter’s emotional outburst. When she arrived at the school to pick her up, she found her being held in an isolation room.

That’s when she took out her phone and started recording.

The video Grave shared with I-Team 8 appears to show school staff trying to open the door to the isolation room, but they can’t because her daughter’s fingers are under the door. When the door opens, her daughter appears to not be wearing any shoes or socks.

Grave was not expecting to find her daughter in that state when she came to pick her up.

“They told me when I get there that she would be cleaning up the room that she destroyed,” Grave said. “When I actually got there, she wasn’t actually in the room where they said she was.”

Grave told I-Team 8 her daughter has emotional episodes that stem from a concussion she sustained several years ago in day care.

“Any little thing can actually trigger the episode,” Grave said.

According to Grave, this episode started when her daughter was slapped by another student on the playground. She said she warned staff at Fishers Elementary about her daughter’s emotional issues when she enrolled her in school this year.

“I tell these schools that whenever she has the first episode to please get me on the phone.” Grave said. “Don’t wait until the next one occurs because she can turn into a different kid.”

Since the incident, Grave has removed her daughter from Fishers Elementary School. Grave tried to enroll her at other elementary schools in the district, but she doesn’t live in the right zoning area to do that.

When I-Team 8 asked the Hamilton Southeastern Schools officials about the incident, they said their staff is trained to handle these types of situations with different de-escalation techniques.

In a statement sent to I-Team 8, a spokesperson for the Hamilton Southeastern Schools said, “Staff took appropriate measures to de-escalate the student before resorting to seclusion. The use of the seclusion room, as outlined in policies and procedures established by state and federal education agencies, is to be used when an individual’s behavior poses serious harm to self or others. The student’s parents were promptly informed of the incident, and we will continue to actively work to address any concerns. We are committed to continuously evaluating our practices and exploring strategies to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.”

Grave said, “I just want them to treat her equally out here and actually follow the proper protocols to showing her some love and care.”

The Hamilton Southeastern school district did not mention specific details about what led up to Grave’s daughter being placed in the seclusion room. Grave said she gave the district permission to release the incident report to I-Team 8, and I-Team 8 has submitted a records request to get that report.