School District Made Kids Clean the Restrooms If Caught 'Bullying'
'He was compromised. He was touching pee pee for a week,' she said. "And now he's sick!'
Should misbehaving kids who attend Berkeley, California, schools be forced to scrub public restrooms as punishment? The parent of an 11-year-old boy who was given such a punishment says no.
Ishmael Perry was accused of using "bullying" language at an after school program, although the boy claimed he was merely an innocent bystander and it was a different child who made the remark. Nevertheless, Perry was given the choice of suspension or bathroom–cleaning duty.
Now, his mother is claiming that the punishment was inappropriate and made the boy sick. According to KCBS:
"Why is cleaning bathrooms an option? It should never happen," said Magdalene Kingori, Ishmael's mom.
Kingori said her son came down with whooping cough and missed four days of school.
"He was compromised. He was touching pee pee for a week," she said. "And now he's sick!"
She took her case all the way to the district superintendent, who said that discipline was inappropriate, and students will no longer be punished that way. But the district refuses to discuss the case with KCBS and considers the matter closed.
In fairness to the district, another parent disputed Kingori's account, telling local reporters that Perry was only made to pick up trash in the bathroom, not scrub it.
