Some first graders in Rison accuse their teacher of disciplining them by taping their mouths and taping them to chairs. An investigation is underway and the teacher, Laura Gatlin, is on administrative leave. Parents tell FOX16 this is child abuse and they believe if they'd done this to their children at home they'd already be in jail. Right now Gatlin isn't charged with anything.
"I don't abuse my child at home and I'm not gonna take it nowhere else," says Keri Farrer.
But Farrer says that's exactly what first grade teacher Laura Gatlin did to children in her Rison Elementary School classroom.
The students claim Miss Gatlin taped them to chairs and even taped their mouths. "She wasn't taped three times, just once around the waist, like almost kind of like a seatbelt because she was acting up," says Christina Harrington, whose child was involved in the incident.
Nine students say Gatlin taped them to chairs and three had their mouths taped shut. The Cleveland County Sheriff's Department, DHS, and the school district are investigating the allegations.
"Main thing I want everybody to understand, if this truly happened and to what degree, it's nothing we would approve of and it will not happen again," says Johnnie Johnson, Cleveland County School District Superintendent.
While authorities try to sort this out, parents are left to deal with the consequences of this incident. Farrer says, "My son thinks it's now okay for him to come home and tape up his brothers."
"If you take a child that's never had any problems and loves school and all of a sudden this incident happens and now she don't want to go, that's a problem," says Harrington. She adds that this ordeal has been so traumatizing to her daughter she may have to put her in therapy.
Both women say if they aren't satisfied with the outcome they may file a lawsuit. The Cleveland County School district will hold a meeting with parents about the incident Monday night at the administration office. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 Monday March, 9th. Gatlin could not be reached for comment.
