Column: Children in our communities need protections

With American families and children living in a time of unknown for so many aspects of life, but especially within the educational system, I think it is important to remember the reasons why protections were implemented. Imagine sitting in a room, full of peers, and feeling like you do not understand what is being taught or that there is too much on the page that anxiety sets in, and you do not know where to start.

Now, imagine being a child, in that atmosphere, feeling invisible, unseen, unheard, not knowing how to help yourself, who to go to for help. Children's brains are still forming, learning who they are, where they stand in life. Not being able to complete work, grades dropping, not being able to move to the next grade with all your friends.

Now comes a story of a strong and resilient 14-year-old, with a mental health disorder as well as type 1 diabetes. He receives services through an IEP, for medical needs as well as behavioral. This student had an increase in appropriate behaviors over a span of two years. To be triggered and need to compose himself better than the adults interacting with him.

- Refusal to seek medical treatment at the nurse

- Nurse not following the IEP and only seeing him 16% of scheduled visits between August 2024 and the ending of February 2025, leading to an elevated A1c, prolonging necessary surgery.

- Assaulted by the SRO twice over him wearing a hood (cold due to high blood sugars, and was approved by the principal and relayed to the SRO)

- Harassment, bullying and retaliation from administration

- Principal forging documents to cover the behaviors of the faculty (audio recording to prove)

- A teacher telling the student to "go ahead and die" because he does not want to hear him request to go to the nurse every day (audio recording to prove)

- Restraining order attempted, but because the abuse did not reach "private life" the order was not allowed to be signed

- Principal, superintendent, school board ignoring concerns

I get that the educational system is not working as it is being implemented, but this story is proof that a system is needed to protect the children and the generations to come. Why not fix the system, do a deep dive into problems and come up with solutions, instead of just throwing the entire system out?

- Who will protect these students in the future?

- How many students need to suffer at the hands of adults, who are supposed to be trustworthy, for change to occur?

- How many more American children need to suffer silently, before taking their lives? (one a year in my son's middle school)

- Why are we going to allow students to fall behind, leading to more mental health issues and lack of employment, increasing unemployment and those relying on disability benefits instead of working?

These are just a few questions we as Americans should be asking ourselves. I share my son's story in hopes that protections will be figured out for the children in our communities that are already struggling with lack of resources (communal and familial), the increase in cost of living, that most disabled people right now cannot afford.

It all starts in childhood, who we are, our likes and dislikes, learning appropriate social behaviors, even chronic illnesses are linked to childhood trauma (borderline personality disorder, fibromyalgia, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome to name a few), so why not try to correct the issues, where they start?