ALBANY, N.Y. (Times Union) — The mother of a child who allegedly was confined in a “timeout” box at an elementary school has retained an attorney and is preparing to take legal action against the Salmon River Central School District, which is located in Franklin County near the Canadian border.
The impending legal action comes as a criminal investigation is ongoing and the district announced Wednesday it has appointed a new acting superintendent. That follows revelations last week that the Salmon River Central School District had three wooden “timeout” boxes with padded interiors in its elementary schools, according to Superintendent Stanley Harper, who was recently placed on “home duties” by the district’s Board of Education.
Rhonda Garrow, the mother of a child allegedly held in a “timeout” box at his school, was interviewed by local police and said she believes criminal charges will be filed against “school administrators,” according to her attorney, Nicholas Marricco, a senior associate at Tully Rinckey PLLC.
Elizabeth Crawford, the Franklin County district attorney, said Wednesday she has been in “close contact” with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department and the State Police.
But Trooper Brandi M. Ashley, a spokeswoman for State Police Troop B, said Wednesday their agency has not received a formal complaint and has no active investigation of the school district.
“Currently, this matter is being addressed by the Tribal Police and the tribal community,” Brandi said.
About 60% of the district’s students are Native American, and one of the schools where the timeout boxes were allegedly used sits on the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Reservation. The tribal police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Effective immediately, the district is being led by Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES District Superintendent Dale Breault, who has stepped in as acting superintendent for the Salmon River Central School District. The school board’s reassignment of Harper to “home duties” remains in effect pending the outcome of the internal investigation. The district’s special education director, an elementary school principal, and an elementary school teacher were placed on administrative leave.
Last week, the district announced that it had hired a law firm to begin an investigation into the “timeout” boxes. On Wednesday, the district said that investigation “is now being led by” Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES.
Marricco said their law firm is preparing to file a notice of claim against the district, the first step to initiating a lawsuit against a public agency in New York.
“The claims made against the district are not just troubling, they are a direct violation of Ms. Garrow’s child’s rights,” he said. “We are ready to proceed to fully expose the unlawful actions that led to this troubling situation in the … school district and will fight for the rights of Ms. Garrow and her child and hopefully end this nonsensical practice.”
Garrow is one of several parents who spoke at a fiery school board meeting last week and said that after speaking with their children, they believe they may have been held inside the boxes. The district said the boxes have since been removed from classrooms and disassembled.
Garrow told the board that she had learned that one of the boxes had been built for her autistic, nonverbal son.
