Three Texas middle school paraprofessionals have been fired after a video emerged of them watching an older student beat up a special-needs young student.
The aides stood around as spectators as the child, whose mental capacity is equivalent to a pre-K or kindergartener, was hit, pushed to the ground, and kicked repeatedly.
Veda Cavitt, the boy’s grandmother, and local advocates pushed the Houston-area Aldine Independent School District (ISD) to terminate three Jones Middle School aides for not immediately responding after witnessing an assault on the vulnerable child on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
Sekai, an autistic sixth grader who happens to also be non-verbal, accidentally bumped a much larger student in the hallway, prompting him to violently retaliate.
The school’s surveillance footage shows the older student mushing the 11-year-old child to the floor and kicking him as he crawled. Once the boy was able to get his footing and stand up, the older student is seen punching him until he drops to the floor for a second time.
Three adults are in the camera view (at different times) throughout the video. At one point, what appears to be a male figure addresses the aggressor and seems to separate the two. However, to no avail. The attacker kicks Sekai a few more times as the aides and other students watch.
As a result of the assault, Sekai missed two days of school and, according to the grandmother, is currently being evaluated by medical professionals to assess the full extent of his injuries.
“Those adults in that video stood there,” Cavitt said at a news conference last month. “They did not attempt to help my child get up off the ground. They did not offer him any assistance. They didn’t even check to see if he was injured.”
The grandmother became Sekai’s custodial guardian approximately ten years ago when his parents died. The severity of the child’s autism has hindered his development, stagnating his psychological growth to that of a 4- or 5-year-old, requiring her to be his principal advocate.
