2 moms suing PGCPS after students allegedly tied to chairs with bungee cords
Mothers suing PGCPS after students allegedly tied to chairs with bungee cords
Two mothers in Prince George’s County are suing the public school system after a teacher allegedly tied their first graders to chairs using bungee cords. FOX 5’s Chief Legal Correspondent Katie Barlow sat down with them.
PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., Md. - Two mothers in Prince George’s County are suing the public school system after a teacher allegedly tied their first-graders to chairs using bungee cords.
What happened?:
Kelly Young and Demia Roman both received calls from the principal of Seat Pleasant Elementary School in October 2024.
Their sons were ok, but they were told there had been an incident.
Both six-year-olds are autistic and nonverbal. They couldn't say what happened to them — and since then, both mothers have been desperately searching for answers.
"This is the 21st century, this is Prince George's County — the largest county in the state — and I'm shocked that we have this case here today," attorney Jason Kisner said.
Kisner is representing the families.
Mothers heartbroken:
Roman says her son loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch and came into this world ready to go, doing puzzles for six-year-olds when he was just three.
Because he has autism and is nonverbal, that made it especially terrifying to send her son to Seat Pleasant Elementary, because he could never tell her if something went wrong.
When it did, she had to learn from Child Protective Services.
"I said, ‘well, what happened?’ Because now I'm scared. She says, ‘well, from what I understand, your son,’...I’m sorry…she said ‘he was being restrained with bungee cords in a chair.’" Roman told FOX 5 through tears.
Roman says that since this incident happened, her son has slowly been getting more challenging, behaviorally.
She was worried that abusive behavior was happening to other children, and she was right.
Kelly Young had a six-year-old son in the same classroom. He too, was restrained with a bungee cord.
Young says her son is always happy and playful, and he loves to have fun. She said he came home with multiple bruises and nail marks on his body leading up to this incident and she's worried more may have happened.
"You have a child who, God knows what they're going through, what they're feeling. You know, my son doesn't like to be restrained. To know that he was going through that, what he was feeling…you're just angry because these people are there to take care of your children," Young said.
Legal action:
Now, both women have enlisted Jason Kisner to sue the school system to get answers. They want change and justice for their kids.
"There really is a public covenant between parents and the school system. You send your kids to school with — at least the expectation, with the expectation — that they'll be safe and that wasn't the case here. And I have a hard time believing the administration didn't know about this," Kisner said.
They plan to file the lawsuit this week. They put the school system on notice this month.
When we asked PGPS for comment, they said the teacher has been placed on administrative leave but that is not an indication of wrongdoing.