Posted on 06/17/2012 8:29:18 AM PDT by rawhide
FORT WORTH, Texas – The parents of a third-grade boy have sued two Texas school employees, alleging that they forced their son to strip and shower in front of them because he "smelled badly, was dirty and had bad hygiene."
The eight-year-old was singled out last November and taken to the nurse's office at Peaster Elementary School where he was forced to remove his clothes, the suit alleges, the Courthouse News Service reported.
The two school officials then "began violently washing his body with a washcloth, scrubbing him over a large portion of his body, stuck cotton balls in his ears, all while ridiculing and harassing him about being 'dirty,'" the complaint claims.
The child's parents, Amber and Michael Tilley, said they lodged a police report over the incident but no charges were laid.
On Thursday, the Tilleys filed their lawsuit against Peaster Independent School District and Peaster Elementary School employees Julie West and Debbie Van Rite in federal court in Fort Worth.
"It's terrible, and we don't want anything like that to happen to any other children," Amber Tilley told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
According to the lawsuit, the incident left the boy "visibly and severely distraught," and he had to see a therapist after.
"He just kept on and on, wanting to take baths," Amber Tilley said. "You know, he just felt so disgusting."
She added that her son did not have a problem with body odour or cleanliness.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I remember my first kindergarten love.
She smelled like hot dogs and I really liked hot dogs.
In basic training...we had a guy dropped back into our flight for various reasons. About six days after he arrived...it’d become apparent that he simply wasn’t taking showers. He’d shave...but he absolutely didn’t take a shower. We had three guys go up together to “stinky” and just lay it out that they’d help him in the morning...to reach the shower, and he wouldn’t leave the shower until he did what he was supposed to do. We didn’t have a problem after that.
I imagine that “stinky” lasted out four years and left the military. And maybe he just never took a shower after basic training. We just don’t know.
Some people just need encouragement.
Sounds like problem solved.
Contact the kid’s parents and send him home. Don’t give him a Sandusky.
Dang, the kid must have been really ripe.
And when the other kids pick on him for being smelly, the parents are going to demand to know why the school didn’t do something about it.
Besides reading and writing, school is a process of introducing children to society.
Its a fine line letting teachers decide when a child is “too dirty” (or too anything, for that matter) but based merely on the scant details of this article, it seems like the teachers did the correct thing.
Taxpayers will be fleeced by some Lawyer, once again, I'm afraid.
GI Showers were common with recruits who stunk up the barracks, back in my day, and they got the message and corrected their course thereafter.
Hygiene is a useful life skill.
Instead, they have left themselves open to a big school budget hit by the crooked Texas shyster industry and the phony baloney aggrieved parents.
Every now and again we get an inmate who believes they have a constitutional right not to shower. Over the years we have had to administer forced showers but they aren’t fun for anyone and are inherently dangerous (water, soap, unwilling parties). As I’ve gotten older, I’ve settled on squirting about 1/4 cup of shampoo into a foil ashtray, walking up to the inmate, and smearing in their hair. I tell them if they don’t like it, they can wash it out. So far, 100% success rate.
From what I read here (limited info), the school staff was way out of line to bath the kid.
From what I read here (limited info), the school staff was way out of line to bathe the kid.
I working with a guy that smelt really,really bad. Finally a co worker told him that he smelled like Bigfoots jockstrap. Stinky replied that he hadnt washed his work pants in three weeks.
I dont know why people shun soap and water..if not for their sake then for the poor souls who have to smell the stench.
Totally agree.
Completely out of line and criminal action. They certainly should have talked with the parents but strip and bath a kid? No way under ANY circumstance is this appropriate. I find it disturbing that charges were not filed against the school administrators. ANYONE else would have been charged, If this were a private school the cops would have walked in and handcuffed people but because it involves government schools and they and the police feed off the same taxpayer teet, the police do nothing.
Smart and effective.
Also, filthy kids often have lice & other nasties - a threat to other kids. The school has a responsibility to address these situations immediately when they arise.
But, given today's climate of pedophilia & zero tolerance, stripping & hand washing the boy was not a good idea.
A long time ago, my mother would have provided the soap & a stiff brush.
Children aren’t prisoners.. almost... this was handled without due care. I’ve worked in prisons/jails for 11 yrs.. not the same. In jail you bathe your ass. In school you have a parent conference or a visit by DCF..
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