Parents say Fayette County teacher threw markers at their son, who has autism

The parents of an autistic student say Fayette County Public Schools officials failed to tell them they investigated their child’s teacher for tossing markers at him.

Demond Warner, whose fourth-grade son attends William Wells Brown Elementary School, said he and his son’s mother only found about the teacher’s actions when a classmate’s grandmother alerted them a few weeks ago.

District spokesperson Miranda Scully on Saturday told the Herald-Leader district officials are looking into the situation.

Warner provided the Herald-Leader with a redacted Fayette County school police report that shows school police talked to the teacher in January. The report said the teacher, accompanied by an attorney when she was interviewed, said she “tossed markers toward students but not with intent of hitting them.”

The teacher’s name was redacted from the report.

The teacher said “the previous staff had done this and she didn’t want to disrupt the routine.” She said she didn’t hit any of the students with the markers, the report said.

A second teacher was quoted in the report as saying that she saw the teacher under investigation throw markers at the student, but none struck his head. She said one might have bounced off the student’s chest. The second teacher said the educator under investigation was frustrated with the child because he was making noises and not doing his work.

The teacher who witnessed the behavior said she heard the teacher under investigation tell students she was going to bring a Nerf gun (a toy gun that shoots foam darts) and “shoot everyone because they were p****** her off,” the report said.

The second teacher told investigators she had to “correct her” (the teacher under investigation) “on the way she talks to students.”

She also said she had observed the teacher bickering with students on occasion.

The teacher under investigation said she mentioned a Nerf gun in class but did not say she was going to bring it in and shoot anyone, the report states.

The teacher said “she sometimes gets overwhelmed in class with all the things that are going on within a classroom,” the report states.

“She needs a minute outside the classroom to gather herself,” the report said.

There was no video surveillance of the incidents because there were no cameras in the classroom, the report said.

The teacher was investigated for the charge of harassment (no contact), but no charges were filed, the report said.

Child protective services also investigated, the police report said.

Warner said Saturday he had received conflicting reports about the teacher’s employment status.

“I don’t feel like the lady should be around kids at all,” Warner said.

The child’s mother, Leona Thomas, agreed, noting that the teacher also threw colored pencils at her son. She also said she thought the teacher should be criminally charged.

“It’s more than neglect,” Thomas said.