08:21 AM CDT on Thursday, August 25, 2005

Shauna Sanford / WWL-TV Reporter

One St. Tammany Parish mother said her son’s teacher went too far in punishing her child; stripping him down to his underwear in an effort to teach him a lesson. The boy’s mother said the incident left her son humiliated, and now she wants the St. Tammany school system to take action.

Amy Williamson describes what happened to her child at Covington Elementary as horrifying.

WWL-TV

Amy Williamson said she wants the St. Tammany Parish school system to closely examine the matter.

“I was shaking so badly, I couldn't even talk to anybody. I mean, I was furious. To make a four-year-old child, who's almost 5, endure I don't even know how many hours of humiliation in front of how many people,” she said.

Williamson said her four-year-old son, a special needs student, was humiliated after his teacher forced him to sit in class and then get on the bus in only his t-shirt and underwear. Misty Brown, director of an after care program, said when the child arrived at her center, he was upset and embarrassed.

“He did not want to come off that bus and I had to literally pick him up with his knees tucked under his shirt cause I guess he didn't want to show anybody and he had no shoes and no socks on,” Brown said before realizing that the child wasn’t wearing any pants. “And I just said, ‘come on in. We'll get you some pants.’ And he was fine after that.”

Williamson said among other things her son suffers from a severe speech impediment and had it not been for Brown she would never have known what happened. When she called the school, the teacher told her she was punishing the boy for wetting his pants twice.

"She said if it bothers you that much I won't do it again, but I wanted to show him who was boss and I wanted to make sure he won't do it again,” Williamson said, who’s now asking the St. Tammany school system to take action to protect her son and other children as well.

Williamson said she has an attorney but does not really want to put her son through a court challenge, and would rather the school board take care of the matter.

"I want to make sure this never happens to any child, anywhere, ever again. God knows because he can't really tell me what's going on, how long he's gonna carry this with him. But this is the classic thing that all kids have nightmares about being at school in their underwear. I mean, you see it in the movies. He was degraded in front of I don't know how many people and I don't know for how long,” she said.

The St. Tammany Parish Public School System issued a statement about this case:

“Parent concerns about our students are addressed swiftly and carefully. In this matter that has been brought to our attention, we will follow established procedures to thoroughly address the matter and help prevent such situations in the future.”

A district spokesperson confirms the investigation is underway.

Williamson’s son remains at the school, though he’s been moved to a different class.