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Xantippe
Guest
Here’s a piece about the risks of working in the special education classroom, and how hazardous it can be to be a low-paid aide (special ed teachers are about 85% women, with presumably similar numbers for aides).
“Years went by, and we would hear special education paraprofessionals [that means aides] confide in low tones how they were getting hit, kicked, spat upon, scratched and screamed at by their students.”
"A student wearing heavy boots kicked Beth (not her real name), a veteran special ed assistant, in the head. Her concussion left her with a stutter and post-traumatic stress.
"Despite another student’s individual education plan (IEP) that said no one was to come within four feet of him, special ed assistant Christopher (again, not his name) was knowingly ordered to sit next to this student, who gouged the para’s eyes, dislodging his surgically implanted lens. Eventually, the lens had to be removed, leaving him visually impaired.
"Many paras like Monica McCanna have been punched and kicked by students who outweigh them by 100 pounds or more.
“When Christopher, now reassigned, reported continuing violence to the district’s special ed coordinator, he was told that violence comes with the job.”
“When protective equipment is promised, it needs to be delivered. “Nothing got ordered for any of our people last year,” says paraprofessional Kathy Forbes, who worked in a room where a student tried to strangle a teacher.”
“When school employees are hurt, school administrators need to help. Not roll their eyes when paras ask for a sick day to recover from bruises and sprains. Not give paras the runaround on workers’ compensation—Beth’s district evaded providing answers for months on her workers’ comp claim. Only after OSEA hired a lawyer was the claim approved.”
“Federal and state laws require employers to keep workplaces safe. The problem is that elementary and secondary schools are designated as “safe workplaces” and partially exempt under federal law. That’s because the “safe” designation came before schools were required to accept nearly all students—even those with a history of violence—and during a bygone era with more staff, like counselors.”
“That’s why no federal agency knows the extent of the violence. That’s why in Oregon, school districts don’t have to report most injuries inflicted on staff.”
“In Oregon’s Redmond School District, employees told OSHA they were harmed routinely. The school district discouraged them from reporting; it didn’t want bad publicity. But a subsequent OSHA investigation found incident reports stuffed into desk drawers or filed away and not dealt with.”
“Our members are coming forward. Last December, OSEA activists got the ear of their governor. They told Gov. Kate Brown about how a few students hit, bite and kick other students and educators, and about the union’s Work Shouldn’t Hurt campaign.”
