Georgia teachers accused of locking kid in bathroom

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School officials in Rockdale County have launched an investigation into allegations of employee misconduct against two special education teachers accused of locking a student with autism in a bathroom for hours as a form of punishment.

A district spokesperson confirmed officials are reviewing footage of the incident that took place at Davis Middle School on Aug. 3. Parent Jennifer Akins told FOX 5 her 13-year-old son Jordan, who is non-verbal, hasn’t been the same since he came home from school two weeks ago.

“ His behaviors have been different since that Thursday," she said. "I just felt numb knowing that he had to go through this, and he couldn’t tell us."

Akins said she and her husband were disturbed the following day to learn what her son’s teachers did in response him having what the school’s principal described to her as a "meltdown."

“ He got up and was throwing food, and then she said the para-professional stood up and told him, ‘Ok, you’re not having a good day, so you’re going in the bathroom,'" she recalled of the conversation. "She said that he was drug in the bathroom, the bathroom door was closed, there was a chair put in front of the door, and a student was advised to sit in the chair."

Akins said when school leaders initially notified them about what happened, she was first told Jordan was placed in the bathroom for five minutes, and then 20 minutes to calm him down. But later, the mother said she was told footage of the incident revealed it was much longer than that.

The Akins said they’ve taken their son out of school for now, and they are supposed to meet with school officials to review video of the incident Thursday. In the meantime, they’ve obtained legal representation and are in the process of filing a report with Rockdale County authorities.