Orangeburg County (WLTX) - An Orangeburg special education teacher at Edisto High has been suspended after a student claims he was abused.
He's 61-year-old Paul Jensen.
The student's aunt and uncle, who are raising the boy, told News19 they first learned about the incident last week - the day that it happened. While their version of events differ from the school district's, both agree it shouldn't have happened.
"I'm just trying to do what's best for him," says David Smith of his nephew.
Smith and his wife have been taking care of their nephew for so long, he's become one of their own. When Smith first heard that a plastic bag may have been placed over his nephew's head by a teacher last Thursday, he reacted the way any parent would. Says Smith, "I was extremely frustrated, very upset, high blood pressure."
According to Orangeburg School District 4, the teacher didn't place the bag over the child's head, but near his face. But the distinction doesn't stop Superintendent Dr. Thomas Sparks from taking the accusations seriously. "There is concern, of course, from everyone from me on down that this even took place or was allowed to happen," he says.
In August, a parent complained about bruises on her son, who was in Jensen's class. It was investigated by the school district and determined to be an accident that happened when trying to move the child. "He was, however, given an improvement plan to use better methods in terms of moving students from one area to another," says Sparks.
Worries Smith, "It's a very different type of abuse and that's what's got me concerned is, where does it stop at?"
But for the district, they say this is stopping point and one to learn from. "I will be putting out directives on what I expect teachers to do and not do in the classroom," Sparks says.
No charges have been filed in the case but the Orangeburg Sheriff's Department is looking into the situation. The school district says that there have been no negative marks on Jensen's teaching record in the past.
Smith says if Jensen is allowed to return to the school, his nephew definitely won't be back and they might consider a new school for him regardless of the investigation's outcome.
10/9/2009 6:36:35 PM
