QUESTION: Did a student at Southern Middle School bite a teacher severely last Tuesday, September 3, and then returned to school to the next day, when he bit three other teachers, as well as the School Resource Officer (SRO)? Did the principal at Southern Middle School
complain about the use of handcuffs by the SRO to prevent further biting of school personnel? Was the student suspended or disciplined in any way?
ANSWER: Alamance-Burlington school officials would neither confirm nor deny the alleged assault (by biting) on four teachers and the SRO at Southern Middle School in response to an inquiry by The Alamance News.
“Federal and state laws prohibit ABSS from providing information about individual students or employees,” said Emily-Lynn Adkins, who is the school system’s chief communications officer.
“In general, students with disabilities are subject to the same code of conduct as nondisabled students,” Adkins said.
“However, federal and state law provide additional protections to ensure that students with disabilities are not excluded from school for behavior that is caused by their disability,” she added.
“This does not mean that aggressive or violent behavior is tolerated, nor that the school staff are left unprotected,” Adkins told the newspaper Monday. “In addition to the Code of Conduct, we address dangerous and disruptive behavior through multiple layers of interventions, specialized services, and staffing, depending on the needs of the student and the classroom. We cannot always prevent the unexpected, but we have a dedicated team of educators and specialists who work hard to keep everyone safe.”
