Shine OnSouth Carolina special needs student suspended for bomb ‘threat’ allowed back to school
A South Carolina boy with special needs is allowed to return to school after being suspended for bringing a cartoon picture of a bomb to school.
Rhett Parham of Greenville, S.C. was suspended indefinitely on Monday from Hillcrest Middle School for telling his friends he brought a bomb to school -- referring to a photo of a bomb he'd drawn over the weekend and brought to school.
His mother, Amy Parham, tells Fox that Rhett's cartoon was inspired by his favourite video game, Bomberman, and that the episode at school was not a violent act, but a result of his disability. On Wednesday, a school hearing determined that Rhett's suspension could be lifted.
"They realized that his disability was the reason that he made statements and drew the picture, and that he had no malicious intent what so ever," Amy Parham says.
Parham adds that the school acknowledged Rhett was non-violent, but went ahead with the suspension to make an example for other students.
"They knew he was not actually having a bomb, creating or making a bomb," says Parham. "But that they could not go with out making an example of him and take some type of action because they were worried about their perception. Perception is actually the word he used. Perception is reality, and parents might think you have a bomb or [might be] violent."
However, the school district may have a different take on the matter. A representative for the district released the following statement on Wednesday:
It is troubling that incomplete and inaccurate information has been shared by the mother about the incident involving her child at Hillcrest Middle School. School districts are prohibited by law from releasing specific student discipline information without parental permission. The district prefers full disclosure of the incident, but the mother has refused our request to allow details about the incident to be released.
The school administration responded appropriately when threatening comments were made, investigated it fully, and acted in accord with applicable laws, policies and procedures to bring this incident to its proper closure.
Was the school insistent on punishing Rhett to avoid having parents accuse them of giving a special needs student special treatment? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
