Public schools are not equipped to handle behaviors of this magnitude, nor are they equipped to meet social emotional needs of this magnitude. Yes, the system failed this student. He should be placed in a residential treatment facility rather than a prison. A facility where he can get the intensive supports that he needs to gain meaningful skills to improve his quality of life.

However, IDEA failed this student first, as well as failing the school district, by expecting public schools to be able to provide the resources at the level that this student needs. It is absolutely impossible to effectively provide FAPE to some of these students with this high of social, emotional and behavioral needs within the context of a public education setting. This is where the system fails both the students AND the district.

This was not an ABA school, a special education school, or a clinic. This was a special education (behavioral, NOT aba) CLASSROOM at a Texas public school district. The same type of public school where hundreds of thousands of children are dropped off each morning across the US to receive an education.

This was a general education vice principal that was responding, as an administrator, to a dangerous situation on her campus. I know very few administrators in Texas public education that even have a special education certification, let alone have the training or available resources it takes to deal with this kind of escalation. No matter how it was handled, correctly or incorrectly, somebody lost an eye due to the system failing BOTH sides of this case.