MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Northaven Elementary School parent wants answers from the Department of Children’s Services about how it is handling her daughter’s case.
“What did they say to my child?” asked parent Tanya Nelson.
Nelson’s daughter is in kindergarten and has special needs.
Nelson believes investigators talked to her daughter without her knowledge, looking into what happened last week.
She said the incident started with a boy in her daughter’s classroom.
“He took her pencil. She asked for the pencil back. He said, ‘If you unbutton your pants, I’ll give you your pencil,'” Nelson explained.
Her daughter unbuttoned her pants. Nelson said the boy put his hands in her daughter’s underwear.
Her daughter told the teacher, who followed the chain of command and called Nelson.
The school also called DCS in accordance with policy. Nelson said that is when the information stopped. She wants to be sure the boy is punished for his actions.
“I feel like my stuff is getting pushed underneath the rug, because I don’t know what happens next with my child,” she said.
She said that by the end of the week, her daughter was scared to go to school. She let her daughter stay home from school Friday.
It was not until early this week that Nelson said she heard DCS interviewed her daughter.
The agency told WREG in a statement, “DCS is investigating. We cannot discuss details of the case because of confidentiality laws. As to your policy questions, yes we can and do talk to children without their parents present. we treat each case, each child, each family individually based on people’s particular needs. Each case is different.”
“I just wish they’d have called me, at least tell me, ‘Is it okay that we talk to your child?’ Sure, but to just talk to her, and I don’t know what was said? Ain’t nobody even contacted me. I’m very mad,” Nelson said.
Under state law, DCS can interview children without their parents present.
However, DCS policy states, “When a parent/caretaker is not the alleged perpetrator, it is recommended that they be notified prior to the child interview.”
It is unclear why that did not happen in this case.
SCS said, “The student was disciplined according to school policy.”