Police: Special needs child duct taped at school

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Duct Tape is used to fix lot things, but it should never be used to discipline a child.

Nate Searcy says someone at West Lake Elementary school wrapped his daughter's ankles and shoes with duct tape.

“When I looked down and seen duct tape around her feet there were no words to really explain it,” Searcy said. “It was jaw dropping. I've never seen anything like that.”

His daughter, eight-year-old Shaylyn suffers from Down syndrome. Searcy says Shaylyn likes to walk barefoot, but isn’t sure how she  was duct taped.

“One lady who was waiting for her child said she heard Shaylyn's name mentioned and (Shaylyn) kept telling them ‘let me up, let me up,’” Searcy said. “There ( were )three teachers surrounding her and telling her ‘no, you stay put, and pushed her out in the stroller or wheelchair or whatever the thing was.”

A school bus driver told the parents their daughter was put on the bus in a restraint chair.

A police report 24-Hour-News 8 obtained also says the mother told police her daughter has a history of taking her shoes off but in the past, the school would call her to talk her daughter into putting her shoes on and has had to pick her up from school in the past when she refused to put them on.

According to a statement from the MSD of Wayne Township, "We have had the opportunity to meet with the parents of the student involved in this reported incident and have begun our own investigation. We have notified the Indiana Department of Child Services of the incident, and if warranted, we will file a report with the agency. We have also involved our own law enforcement officers in the investigation. When the investigation into this incident is concluded, we will take appropriate action."

Meanwhile, Searcy says cameras in the classroom might help prevent future incidents. 

“Special needs kids can't really speak for themselves. We have asked her and she likes to stutter a lot when we are trying to get answers from her,” Searcy said. “Then the children will have a word for themselves at that point. They will have video surveillance of what is actually happening.”

The district’s superintendent, who noted the township currently serves more than 2,050 students in the Special Services Department, said cameras aren’t an option right now.

“The M.S.D. of Wayne Township does not have the funding or capacity to install cameras in all of our classrooms throughout the district” Buts Jeffrey K. Butts told 24-Hour-News 8 in an e-mail response.

The Searcy family is working to have their daughter transferred to another school.