Violent kids take over Florida’s classrooms, and they have the law on their side

By BRITTANY WALLMAN and MEGAN O’MATZ

South Florida Sun-Sentinel. DEC. 10, 2019

Out of the blue, the student balled his fists and punched his teacher in the face, pummeling her until she was dazed and crying, a police report says.

By the time a calm returned to Northeast High in Oakland Park, two teachers and an aide were in ambulances. The special needs student wasn’t arrested because he “cannot tell the difference between right and wrong behaviors,” a police sergeant wrote in his report.

Three days later, the teen was back on campus.

In school after school, students are erupting with violence. They stab or beat teachers. They throw furniture. They stalk and attack classmates, turning schoolrooms into danger zones where the rights of violent students with disabilities trump all others.

In an eight-month investigation, the South Florida Sun Sentinel found that a sweeping push for “inclusion” enables unstable children to attend regular classes even though school districts severely lack the support staff to manage them.