An Iowa special needs teacher was fired after she reported a staff member who ignored an autistic child’s nonverbal cries as he hit his head on a concrete floor.
Amanda Delzell, 29, has been on paid leave since late last year, but was ultimately fired by the Urbandale school board in a 4-1 vote Monday night.
She said she was concerned for the safety of seven-year-old Keaton Petek because one of his colleagues ignored him while he hit his head at Webster Elementary School last year.
Delzell, who said there was blood in her classroom because of the incident, said her supervisors constantly pushed her away and told her the boy’s self-harm was confidential and was being investigated.
It was so confidential that apparently they hadn’t even told the boy’s parents, Cody and Paige Petek, until Delzell notified them herself. The Peteks are now filing a civil rights lawsuit against the school.
Amanda Delzell, 29, has been on paid leave since late last year, but was ultimately fired by the Urbandale school board in a 4-1 vote Monday night.
She has said she was concerned for the safety of 7-year-old Keaton Petek (pictured) because one of his colleagues ignored him while he hit his head at Webster Elementary School last year.
When Keaton’s parents were finally allowed to view the video, they were horrified by what they saw.
“The special education teacher is standing in front of him with her arms crossed on her chest or her hands on her hips, not showing any empathy or getting down to his level,” Paige Petek said. WHO13.
In November, Delzell described what was going on with Petek and what led her to try to report her colleague’s behavior.
“One of my students, who is autistic and non-verbal, was hurt by another educator to the point that there was blood in my classroom,” Delzell said. WHO13.
“The next day I went in and looked at the cameras and what I saw was that my student’s IEP and behavior plan were not being followed and the result was a serious injury to him.”
Keaton’s parents say he is generally a “happy, resilient, fun-loving child,” but because of what he faces on the spectrum, “any type of disruption to his schedule, whether at home or at school, can cause him to become overstimulated.” , overwhelmed and very confused.’
Delzell then describes similar behavior on behalf of the other teacher that Petek’s mother saw.
‘I saw his teacher standing over him, allowing him to self-harm and using her foot to push him down the hallway. She was crying while he was in the fetal position.
Delzell, who said there was blood in her classroom because of the incident, said her supervisors constantly pushed her away and told her the boy’s self-harm was confidential and was being investigated.
It was so confidential that they apparently hadn’t even told the boy’s parents, Cody and Paige Petek (pictured), until Delzell notified them herself. The Peteks are now filing a civil rights lawsuit against the school.
When Keaton’s parents were finally allowed to watch the video, they were horrified by what they saw: a teacher refusing to help their son because he was self-harming.
Paige Petek said it was even worse: “They did nothing to help him and at one point you see the special education teacher dragging him down the hallway with her foot while he screams and cries.”
‘[Keaton’s] The behavior plan states that any type of situation where Keaton becomes triggered and hits his head on any object or the floor, an adult will immediately intervene and block his head with the safety cushions. And after that a nurse is supposed to evaluate him.
The nurse called Petek, claiming that the teacher had tended to Keaton’s injury.
However, the next day, he received an email from the school principal saying that this teacher was going to be “out for a few days” with no further explanation.
Five days later, Petek says “another employee,” presumably Delzell, told him about the incident and “they were told not to say anything or discuss it with the parents.”
Delzell said the school punished her for informing parents about 10 days after the incident.
“I’m on the leadership team, I’m a model teacher, a mentor teacher, and then right after the parents found out, I got a letter of reprimand saying I wasn’t meeting the standards,” she said.
In mid-November, Delzell, who has taught in the school district since 2018, was placed on administrative leave, which lasted until April’s decision to fire her.
Delzell said the school punished her for informing parents about 10 days after the incident.
Cody Petek (pictured center) called it “scary” that the woman who tried to do the right thing was being punished while the special education teacher who ignored Keaton’s screams still works there.
Keaton’s parents say he is generally a “happy, resilient, fun-loving child,” but because of what he faces on the spectrum, “any type of disruption to his schedule, whether at home or at school, can cause him to become overstimulated.” , overwhelmed and very confused’
Last year, Cody Petek called it “terrifying” that the woman who tried to do the right thing was punished while the special education teacher who ignored Keaton’s screams still works there.
“These kids can’t talk and I feel like there’s no one there looking out for the kids’ best interests.”
The family filed the civil rights complaint against the teacher in the video, administrators and the Urbandale school district and its board, who chose to fire Delzell Monday night.
“Leadership starts at the top,” Cody Petek said. ‘They have to be held accountable for what they have done and the way they have handled it. If they have done this to our son, they will do it to others. And that’s what we’re looking for, to make sure that never happens again.”
She was fired even though 40 people attended a school board meeting in December to express their support for reporting a colleague’s behavior. WHO13 reported.
“We are deeply disappointed in the superintendent’s recommendation and the board’s decision,” Lori Bullock, Delzell’s attorney, said in a statement following his firing.
‘We are not done with this fight yet. We will continue to work to hold the district accountable for the way it has retaliated against Ms. Delzell for doing the right thing.’
The Urbandale School Board declined to comment on the decision, citing confidentiality laws.
TO Change.org Petition reinstating Delzell has already garnered more than 600 signatures.