Associated Press – January 4, 2007:
A 12-year-old special education student was charged with disorderly conduct after authorities said she deliberately wet her pants at school.
The girl’s mother said she urinated only because the principal frightened her.
The girl was told to go to the kitchen to wash some pots and pans, but refused, wet her pants after teachers summoned Principal Kevin Duckworth, the mother said.
The newspaper withheld the names of the girl and her mother.
Police Chief Eric Gill said school officials were at “wit’s end” with the girl, and they believe her actions were deliberate.
Duckworth did not return calls for comment. School Superintendent Steve Keifer said only that police are generally called in only after “all other alternatives are exhausted.”
Police told the girl’s parents they could probably avoid a fine if they agree to have the girl do community service.
Update: The original story has changed. The charges have been dropped:
Authorities are dropping a disorderly conduct charge against a 12-year-old special education student who they accused of deliberately wetting her pants at school.
Superintendent Steve Keifer said Thursday that it was a mistake to bring police into a case of school discipline.
District Attorney Robert Buehner spoke with Keifer and Gill on Thursday and decided to drop the disorderly conduct charge. Buehner said, “it makes better sense to just let the school district handle it with the child and parents.”
A common sense prosecutor? Maybe Robert Buehner should give Mike Nifong some advice!
Yeah, that should teach her… 😛
OFF TOPIC – Someone claims to have broken the AACS. I hope it’s for real. 🙂
Once again schools are clueless and they do not care.
So what if she did it on purpose?
Maybe she didnt want to do it.
Maybe her handicap (or what ever the PC term is now) stopped her from understanding everything.
When my daughter gets frustrated or does not like the enviorment she is in she will put her hands over her ears and try to walk away.
Should i charge her?
“Police say …. they could probably avoid a fine…”?
I thought under the American system it was up to the prosecutor to decide if charges were to go to trial. It’s not up to the police, is it?
At least the DA had the sense to drop the charges.
The district has dropped the charges and admitted it was a mistake to involve law enforcement. Some administrator just needs a long vacation or career change.
The expectation for schools to provide care and education to every student may be unreasonable. Enabling disabled students to participate in the least restrictive environment without holding them to similar expectations can be unfeasible.
Having said that, why the school would call the cops over this type of situation for any student does not make sense.
#2 Once again schools are clueless and they do not care.
Or more accurately… Someone in a specific school is clueless and did not care…
Quit slapping every school with the failure brush every time some isolated incident crops up… You know how you know this isn’t the norm? Because we are talking about it.
What I want to know is, in this specific case, why was this girl being sent to wash pots and pans in the first damn place?
#6, excellent comment. You said it well for me.
I would add, that the same principle applies to the Prosecutor. Most prosecutors recognize when there is no law broken and / or when a case is unwinable. Like most government agencies and even companies today, there are scarce resources and they must be used to fight the winnable battles.
So why was she sent to wash pots and pans?
I shit my pants when I read this article, I hope I don’t get charged. I’m curious if there would be an increase in fine had she done a doody. Also, what if it was an accidental shart? Inquiring minds…
How do this idiot administrators get to be in those positions? Do they have to have been teachers previously or are they just MBAs who couldn’t make it a Pizza Hut? So often in these stories it’s an admin who is simply clueless about 1) how children work, 2) how the legal system works, 3) how common sense works.
In a lot of places there are qualified teacher shortages. Are there similar admin shortages that cause school systems to take anyone who’s resume has the slightest office admin background? It certainly seems like it.
I was wondering if I was the only one to notice the **pots and pans** bit. Good on you Fusion.
Punishment of physical labor for children in a public school is illegal. And telling or forcing a child in school to perform duties other than those directly linked to their schooling is also illegal(and probably against union rules to).
#10 – HEY!!!!
Did you even read my post?
I was before Fusion, damnit!
Gee, even my wife won’t use the Mr. Anymore. Maybe it’s time for a handle change.
I have always wished I could vomit on-demand.
Wouldn’t that be cool the next time some snippy bureaucrat gives you attitude at the DMV?