Kindergartner Voted Out By Students
Outraged Mom Of Special Needs Son Talks Exclusively With The Early Show
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Alex Barton, 5, a special needs student, was voted out of his Florida kindergarten class. (CBS)
Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son's classmates say what they didn't like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote, and voted Alex, who is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome -- an autism spectrum disorder -- out of the class by a 14-2 margin.
Barton and her son, Alex, talked exclusively with Harry Smith live from West Palm Beach, Fla.
Click on the video below to watch the interview.
Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer.
St. Lucie School spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment. The state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed.
Teacher Wendy Portillo was advised by the school board not to speak to the press so she declined our interview offer.
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See all 905 CommentsIf this had been adults in the work place someone would get sued for discrimination. I could go on and on about this, I have never been so angry in my life to want to e-mail a news center about anything before. If a child is disruptive in a class there are other ways of handling it.
She should loose her job.
I am amazed that the state attorney''s office said her actions were not emotional child abuse. What does it take?! She has seriously damaged that little boy and should be held accountable.
Suggesting a lawsuit is ridiculous. Having your feelings hurt is a part of life. Grow up and stop hiding behind the judicial system.
Perhaps then, the teacher could have avoided the theatrics and gone through the proper channels to get the child a learning environment that was fair to the child as well as the others.
Get him out.
Perhaps then, the teacher could have avoided the theatrics and gone through the proper channels to get the child a learning environment that was fair to the child as well as the others.
Perhaps then, the teacher could have avoided the theatrics and gone through the proper channels to get the child a learning environment that was fair to the child as well as the others.
On a different note, I notice the lady is African American. If someone in the workplace were making racist remarks, what do you think this lady would do? I GUARANTEE she would be filing a lawsuit for discrimination. There is no difference here. I hope this lady is hung to dry. She deserves it just as much as a person who discriminates against race.
We need to teach our young people, our senior citizens, and our elected officials that discrimination should never be up for a "vote" anywhere.
You must be desensitized to peoples feelings. While it may not be the teachers responsibility that the parents didn''t have him in the right place. It is her responsibility to treat all children the same regardless of feelings. Otherwise it is discrimination. Do you think it would be right if I made fun of the teacher because of her race? Plane and simple she violated his civil rights and she will be punished for it.
It''s pretty sad that half of these posts support the teacher and her actions as well as willingly support segretation of special ed student.
Fantastic. I think they should all be put in institutions, where they can be better managed, don''t you?
Ms. Portillo, her supervising Principal and the school superintendent should be fired immediately. How someone like this can even be hired is beyond me, and therein lies the reason for dumping the Principal and Superintendent. They are obviously incompetent as managers and are placing the kids at risk.
The child''s behavior is not germane to the discussion.
Joe
The child should not have been there in the first place. That childs insane behavior would dominate the class, no one could work, talk or learn with that child babbling and non stop talking disrupting the class.
The child should go and the problem would be solved. Or by all means punish the teacher, continue as usual with a new teacher and punish the other children...steal THEIR education in favor of the one.
Punish the many for the special needs of the one.
In the "real" real world, we don''t just "vote" people out of our lives; we especially don''t let 6 year olds think they know what''s "right" for their class.
Wise words by someone who should know.
There is no reason to punish the whole class because of one problem child. The child should be educated but not at the expense of the other childrens education.
Wendy Portillo needs to be put on IMMEDIATE suspension pending completion of an investigation...those responsible for this craven, hard hearted act should be punished and FIRED.
To think that a teacher would be the instigator of a vote by Alex''s peers to exclude him...what a sick, twisted, cowardly act...what has Wendy now taught her class?
That its OK to exclude others who are different, as long as its done by consensus of a mob....Hitler would be proud.
Seems to me like the school should have employed a full-time para-educator if the educational setting was disrupted to the point where the teacher could not deliver instruction.
Appropriate does not mean an education where you get to disrupt everyone else''s education it the class room. You should be in a class with others like you and taught by a teacher who is skilled in teaching someone with "special needs".
The child needs a specialist, not a general practitioner.
The childs mother was wrong to foist that problem child on the other children in that class room.
The teacher could see that almost immediately...and could anyone else who viewed that child.
The child did not need extra time to be evaluated, he needed to be in a different special needs class.
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