Parents of special needs students report multiple instances of abuse at Fayette County Schools

The parents of two Fayette County students are claiming both their special needs sons were recently abused at school.

Jo Grayson says her son Thatcher came home from Tates Creek Middle School with scratches and bruises on September 14. Grayson says her son is mostly non-verbal.

After Grayson inquired with school officials, she says a representative with Child Protective Services told her that surveillance video shows a school employee dragging the boy down the hallway by the leash that's supposed to connect him to his service dog.

“Give me a call and say, ‘Hey, he’s not getting up off the floor. What do you want us to do?’ Instead they dragged him down a hallway,” Grayson said.

Grayson credited the school’s principal with initiating an investigation, but says she wants to see more done. The staff member who allegedly dragged the boy down the hallway no longer works at the school.

Another Fayette County mother says it took filing an open records request to find out that Child Protective Services was investigating similar treatment her son received at Sandersville Elementary School.

“It’s hard to trust people, because I trusted many people with him and the majority was great to him,” said Amanda Biggs. “The majority of them still keep contact with us and follow him, but it only takes one bad person. One person that’s overwhelmed or stressed.

Biggs says that the employee accused of abusing her son Tyler Biggs was allowed to retire.

Fayette County Schools says that complaints of this nature are isolated events, but Jo Grayson said she wants to see some changes.

“What does surprise me is that no one is learning from these issues. Saying we should have a protocol in place. There should be an incident report. There should be phone calls to parents. When a child falls it should be protocol to always call the parent,” Grayson said.

A spokesperson for the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services said they cannot comment on child protective services investigations.