Ky. mom claims autistic son was abused by school, confined in bag

(CBS) MERCER COUNTY, Ky. - The mother of an autistic 9-year-old Kentucky boy claims an employee at her son's school put him a bag in as punishment.

According to CBS affiliate WKYT, Sandra Baker says her son Chris was placed in the bag for acting out at the Mercer County Intermediate School.

Baker says last week she was called to the school, where Chris is enrolled in a program specifically for students with special needs. She says she was told her son had been misbehaving.

"When I walked in," Baker said, "I went down his hallway, and I saw this big green bag laying in the floor beside the aide that was sitting beside the bag, and I saw it moving," she told WKYT.

Baker says teachers explained that Chris was confined to the bag as punishment.  She told the station, "It was a drawstring at the top and it had a hole about this big around left in the top of it," Baker said indicating a small opening, "There was no way he could get out of it, could not get his head through it if he needed to."

In a news release, Mercer County Schools Interim Superintendent Dennis Davis said, "Upon learning of the allegations, the school system reviewed the incident immediately, and the matter is being handled consistently with School District policies and with State and Federal law."

WKYT reports an online petition to dismiss teachers involved or require them to complete additional training has earned the signatures of hundreds of people across the country.

School officials declined to comment on specific allegations, but the superintendent says school district employees receive appropriate training and certifications.