LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – A Lansing man is demanding answers why his 8-year-old daughter returned home from school yesterday with a black eye.
Chauncey McDaniel, 37, says he was shocked when he picked up Heaven, his daughter who is living with special needs, from Beekman Center in Lansing Wednesday.
“My thing is, you know, you drop your kids off at school every day, and you drop them off mark-free. You know?” says McDaniel. “So, if they’re coming home with marks — that deserves public attention.”
Heaven attends Beekman Center in the Lansing School District. It’s a school with specialized staff trained to work with students with Moderate Cognitive Impairments, Severe Cognitive Impairments, Severe Multiple Impairments, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Emotionally Impairments, according to the district’s website.
He says he asked his daughter how she got the bruise.
“She said (my teacher’s assistant) hit me in the face,” he says. “And when she said that, it was an automatic U-turn.”
Once back at the school, Heaven’s teacher told him there had been an incident earlier in the day with the assistant. But the teacher didn’t see any injuries to the girl.
He says the teacher told him, “I know there was a little correction done, but I don’t see a mark.”
There aren’t video cameras in the classroom. McDaniel says cameras “would be safer.”
“The idea is to make our kids feel safe,” he says. “School should be a place where they can learn safely.”
A spokesman for the district says the district was under the impression the situation “had been resolved.” He declined to discuss the case, citing privacy laws.
Lansing police are investigating the situation.
McDaniel says Heaven won’t be heading back to her class at Beekman Center until he knows the teacher’s assistant isn’t there.
“I understand what special education is all about,” he says. “I understand that there are challenges. But when you go putting your hands on these children, we have to realize we are traumatizing them.”
