SUMAS, Wash. — A woman is accusing Sumas Elementary of mistreating a 7-year-old boy with special needs.
The boy’s mother, Lisa Kolbert, told KING 5 she received a phone call from a whistleblower in September who said school staff had restrained her deaf and Autistic son by strapping him to a chair for hours at a time.
A state law passed in 2015 prohibits educators from restraining or isolating students unless there is an “imminent likelihood of serious harm.”
In a statement, Nooksack Valley School District Superintendent Mark Johnson said, “We are confident in the staff at Sumas Elementary. They provide a professional and loving environment where children thrive. I would be proud to have my children in the life-skills program, or any program, in Sumas Elementary.”