A paper cut?
A tussle over a hairbrush?
Are those truly grounds for arrest in San Luis Obispo County these days, or was this an overzealous response to a situation that could have been handled by school administrators?
Either way, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and the Lucia Mar Unified School District have some explaining to do following an incident that’s left the Lucia Mar teacher’s union outraged, many residents baffled — and just about everybody asking for the full story.
Here’s what we know: On Tuesday morning, a teacher at Mesa Middle School allegedly grabbed a hairbrush away from a student, injuring her in the process, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Then the teacher allegedly tossed some papers around, inflicting a paper cut on the same student. The Sheriff’s Office was alerted, and the teacher was arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
And here’s the kicker: According to the teachers union, the student is reportedly the child of a sheriff’s deputy, though neither the Sheriff’s Office nor the school district would confirm that.
The sheriff has turned the case over to the District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to charge the teacher with a crime.
If it does, it better be prepared to deal with a whole lot of angry teachers.
Sheriff’s Office says it is duty-bound to act
The Sheriff’s Office informed Tribune reporter Mackenzie Shuman that it’s duty-bound to act when a child is injured by an adult and in this case, “the teacher’s actions caused injuries to the student’s hand and near her eye that were clearly visible.”
Yet teachers told The Tribune that the student attended classes and track practice after the incident, and no injuries were visible.
Also consider what the penal code says: It defines child abuse as the willful infliction of “cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or an injury resulting in a traumatic condition.”
A paper cut may be painful, but hardly qualifies as a “traumatic condition.” And how badly can a hand be injured in a tussle over a hairbrush?
The bigger question, though, is whether there were other ways this incident could have been handled, short of arresting and publicly shaming a public school teacher. Does the Sheriff’s Office have no discretion?
And what about the role of the school district in all this? Are teachers receiving the training and support they need to deal with unruly students?
The teacher’s union says they are not.
“This incident clearly highlights a greater need for administrative support for unruly student behaviors in our classrooms. This year has brought unprecedented levels of defiance and disruption; teachers’ calls for support should not be ignored,” it wrote in message to members.
It sounds as though this teacher was totally frustrated and handled the situation poorly.
But absent any evidence of real injuries, that’s something that should have been addressed by the school district — not by law enforcement.
Otherwise, what kind of message is that sending to teachers, who already are under enough stress?
That even a minor incident could send them to jail, destroy their careers and upend their lives?
That they deserve no compassion from authorities?
That children of law enforcement officers have a special status?
Public sympathizes with teacher
Judging by social media posts, the public is siding with the teacher.
Here’s a sample of some of the hundreds of comments posted on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page:
“She (the student) should have put down the hairbrush like she was probably asked to a half-dozen times.”
“Seems like (you’re) abusing the teacher, not the kid.”
“How could (Sheriff) Ian Parkinson allow this to happen, especially when it makes the department look bad?”
“The job is nearly impossible nowadays. I know several (teachers) who have left or are getting out soon.”
A handful of posts urged against a rush to judgment, such as this comment: “Wow just wow no one knows the whole story but everyone is blaming the child, grab your torch (and) pitchforks … to be arrested there’s probably a little more to the story.”
Actually, many are blaming parents, by pointing out that they are ultimately responsible for how their children behave outside of the home.
It is true that no one — with the exception of those who were in the classroom when the incident took place — knows the whole story.
But from the scant information presented, this has been blown way out of proportion — at the expense of the teacher, who was arrested, “named and shamed” and placed on administrative leave by the school district.
There also is the question of a conflict of interest, if the case truly was handled differently because the student is the child of a deputy.
We strongly urge the District Attorney’s Office to take a hard pass on prosecuting the case.
And it’s time the Lucia Mar Unified School District reexamined the training and support it provides its teachers, to ensure they have the preparation and backup they need to deal with the range of conflicts they face.
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