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Parent tells Wicomico board delayed incident reporting left special-education child unsafe
Summary
Dr. Jocelyn Elliott, parent of a special-education student, told the board her child faced repeated aggression beginning April 13 and that staff provided inconsistent accounts and failed to properly classify or document incidents under district bullying and harassment procedures; she asked for accountability, documentation and temporary removal of the alleged aggressor and teacher pending investigation.
Dr. Jocelyn Elliott told the Wicomico County Board of Education that her special-education child has experienced repeated incidents — including hitting, kicking and screaming — since April 13 and that the family has encountered inconsistent responses and delays from school staff.
“I still have not received proper classification or formal documentation identifying these occurrences as bullying, harassment, or intimidation,” Elliott said during public comment, describing conflicting information from a teacher and an assistant principal and alleging that the incidents were initially denied and only later acknowledged. She said district policies require such incidents be documented, investigated and communicated to parents and that those procedures did not appear to have been followed in her child’s case.
Elliott urged clearer incident classification, timely communication to families, consistent implementation of restorative practices and protections for victims. She also asked for removal of the student responsible for the aggressive behavior and for the teacher to be reassigned or removed from the school environment pending accountability measures.
Why it matters: Elliott framed her remarks as both a request for compliance with existing district bullying and student-conduct policies and as an equity issue; she contrasted her experience with another parent who reportedly received a response within 24 hours. The board did not render an immediate decision during public comment; Chairman Malone said the board would review the comments and follow up if necessary.
