Document Type
Student Note
Abstract
Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society that need and deserve the utmost protection. Children with special needs are even more vulnerable, and their protection should be of vital importance. Parents of special needs children send their kids to school every day trusting that they will be safe from harm and will receive a quality education from trained professionals. Sadly, this is not always the case in West Virginia schools. Special needs children, particularly nonverbal children with autism, have frequently been subjected to physical, verbal, and emotional abuse while at school. This abuse is coming from teachers and aides who are entrusted to care for these children. In the case of nonverbal students, they cannot voice to their parents what happens during the school day. This unfortunate circumstance causes abuse to go undetected for lengthy periods of time. This Note discusses the abuse that special needs children have suffered in West Virginia schools and proposes potential solutions to combat this problem. This abuse of special needs children is ongoing and there is more West Virginia can do to ensure that some of our most treasured and vulnerable members of society receive the proper protection they deserve in their place of learning. This Note will first examine some of the stories of abuse that West Virginia special needs children have experienced and the current background of the situation including relevant West Virginia legislation on video cameras in special education classrooms, legal challenges to video cameras in classrooms, qualification requirements to be a teacher or substitute in West Virginia, the teacher shortage, teacher compensation, and how other states have combatted this problem. Finally, this Note proposes many potential solutions to this issue emphasizing the need for implementation of preventative measures and the need for increased discussion about the abuse that special needs children face at school.
Recommended Citation
Camille Treadway,
Abuse in West Virginia Schools: What Can We Do To Better Protect Our Special Needs Children?,
126
W. Va. L. Rev.
649
(2024).
Available at:
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/wvlr/vol126/iss2/9