The parents of a Charles County, Maryland, second grader injured in a school bathroom incident plan to sue the school system.
School officials say an alleged accident during horseplay left the boy hanging on a stall hook at Barnhart Elementary School in Waldorf a week-and-a-half ago. He had to be rushed to the hospital.
The family says they’re still traumatized 10 days after the incident.
“As a grandparent, the moment I learned my grandchild was found hanging on a bathroom hook in a school stall, I felt as though the world had dropped out from under me,” the boy’s grandmother said.
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According to a letter from the school principal, a fourth grader couldn’t get the second grader down from the hook and ran to get help from school staff.
The second grader’s father described what the principal told him.
“Said he was unconscious, foaming at the mouth, and she got him down,” he said.
“Just the thought of my son being in that condition, it’s just unacceptable,” he said.
The family held a rally Monday demanding more answers from Charles County Public Schools and announcing their intent to file a lawsuit.
Last week, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation found no evidence of criminal intent or a hate crime. Under Maryland law, the fourth grader couldn’t be charged with a crime regardless due to his age, the sheriff’s office said.
The second grader’s family says they want more protection for kids at school, such as hallway monitors.
“Thankfully, he’s alive, but the trauma and emotional toll of such a horrific incident is beyond words,” his grandmother said.
The school system said it plans to impose discipline to the serious nature of the incident but wouldn’t go into details, citing privacy concerns.
According to the CCPS superintendent, Barnhart school administrators reviewed the hallway and bathroom monitoring policies with staff. The school policy calls for students to travel to the bathroom in pairs.
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