Heber’s Parents Allege Autistic Child Slapped by Kinder Teacher | Highlighted

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HEBER “I have a five-year-old child with autism and he was slapped by his kindergarten teacher.”

So began the public comment section of the last Heber Elementary School District (HESD) meeting on Wednesday, April 19 in Heber, as concerned parent Guillermo Verdugo, of Heber, spoke with the school board and superintendent. from HESD regarding the fate of her allegedly abused child.

The public comment section of the board meeting was moved from its place on the agenda until after the student and teacher recognitions, which included the winners of the social studies competition and the winners of the speech and migrant debate saw far fewer parents and one council member, Tony Sandoval, present at the meeting after the reconnaissance party.

Many parents left after a short break in the meeting, the call for a restroom break was requested by HESD Superintendent Juan Cruz.

As the public comments continued after the short break, Verdugo publicly alleged that Cruz conducted an investigation regarding the alleged number one slap of the teacher and the number two slap of his child, but Cruz found nothing against the teacher in question.

Verdugo blamed the superintendent for a long-standing cancer of the Imperial Valley: Compadrismo.

Through social media, I found the teacher who slapped my child and his family and Mr. Cruz and his family went on vacation together, so I put two and two together; that’s why nothing happened to the teacher, Verdugo claimed in public comments.

Now, slap number three and slap number four have been investigated by an outside source, and the investigator said, “I can’t talk about slap number one and slap number two because I was told they had already been investigated,” Verdugo said.

Verdugo said an email from Cruz showed three of five HESD board members voted against investigating the first and second alleged slapping incidents, and that’s very disheartening, especially because that you are all relatives, Verdugo told the council.

Verdugo expanded on each board member, appealing to their parenting nature, saying “What would you do if that was your kid?”

“How can someone slap a child four times and como nada (like it’s nothing),” he asked in Spanish.

Verdugo also alleged that when he went to get a lawyer the counselor told him she couldn’t take his case because they already had another client with a case against that teacher so I know I don’t I’m not the only one, so stop pretending I’m the only one, he said.

Per meeting rules, the council could not respond to any items not specifically listed on the meeting’s agenda, but Imperial Valley Press contacted Superintendent Cruz and each council member via email. to get an official comment from the Heber School District regarding the alleged incidents after the meeting.

The Heber Elementary School District is committed to providing a safe and nurturing learning environment for all of our students, Superintendent Juan Cruz wrote in an email response. We are ensuring that allegations involving student safety are thoroughly investigated and dealt with appropriately, the email reads.

With respect to this specific investigation, state and federal laws strictly limit school districts’ disclosure of personally identifiable information about students and staff, Cruz wrote. As such, we are generally unable to comment on requests for specific students or staff.

HESD Board Chairman Pompeyo Tabarez Jr. also emailed separately with a similar response.

As this is a legal matter involving a confidential student matter, a staff concern and an ongoing investigation, HESD cannot comment on the matter, Tabarez wrote. It is important that we respect the privacy and confidentiality of our students and staff involved in these matters and allow appropriate administrative and legal processes to apply accordingly.

I understand Mr. Verdugo has made public comments, but student privacy is protected by laws such as the Educational Rights and Family Privacy Act (FERPA), the board chair wrote. . Schools are required to protect the privacy of their students.

The district takes any parent concerns seriously and has a process in place to investigate and respond to any concerns and complaints, Tabarez wrote.

Interestingly, the student’s mother also said the family followed all of the district’s processes for reporting the incidents, with little resulting from district investigations, she said.

A lot of people will probably say, He makes it up. Well, he’s not, because he has different teachers and he only said, I was slapped by this teacher. He even remembers exactly what she was wearing every time she slapped him; he described it to us, said the mother.

The mother said the couple reported it to the school principal, the Imperial County Department of Social Services and the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly without much help from any of the entities.

We expressed it, we sent emails and nothing was done, she said. At least the sheriff’s department gave us a (redacted) report, but it wasn’t the full report. The lady we spoke to said she couldn’t give us the full report even though we were the ones who requested an investigation into our son.

Although the couple did not name specific names, they said the teacher in question was their child’s original kindergarten teacher for general education, not his specialist teacher. The mother said that even after the couple took their child out of the teacher’s class in question, she still managed to see him at school and allegedly slapped him on two other separate occasions.

On top of that, he was bullied in his class, for months, the mother said. That part, Mr. Juan Cruz said he believed that part, but he didn’t believe the teacher slapped him.

The mother alleged that their autistic child had been bullied since August 2022 at school. She said the teacher’s first alleged slapping incident took place on September 29, 2022, and the fourth and final alleged slapping took place on January 10, 2023.

The mother alleged that the following slapping was inflicted by the teacher in retaliation for the family reporting the first two alleged slapping incidents to the administration.

It’s very upsetting, says the mother.

There’s a lot of shady stuff going on, and Superintendent Mr. Cruz right there is behind it all, Verdugo told the board meeting in a soft tone.

Margaret Sauza, director of the Sure Helpline Crisis Center, also made public comments during the meeting after Verdugo.

Sauza said that as someone who helps people in crisis, other parents with children from the Heber Elementary School District have come to her with issues they are having with the district.

I’ve spoken to some of the people who come to this school and it’s been brought to my attention so I strongly suggest you all make sure things happen the way they’re supposed to because I don’t . I don’t think you want the state here, and I think the state will come,” Sauza told the board, superintendent and those gathered.

And I’m also very surprised that the awards were given before the comments…I guess every tip is different, but I thought the (other) parents should have been there when this stuff came out, she said said.

So far what I’ve seen and heard isn’t kosher, it’s not fair, Sauza said, so I didn’t want to leave without letting you know.

Thank you very much for your time and I hope you are pulling yourself together, she said. It is very important that you do.

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