School Handcuffed First Graders for Talking: Lawsuit

A Chicago mom is suing the city’s public school system, alleging that a school security guard handcuffed her son and several other 6- and 7-year-olds for talking in class. When asked by school officials to discipline the kids in March 2010, the guard allegedly took them to an empty office and kept them cuffed there for hours, telling them “they were going to prison and would never see their parents again,” a lawyer for the family tells the Chicago Tribune.

“There appears to be no reason for an officer to isolate 6- and 7-year-old children, place them in handcuffs, and threaten them for hours during a school day, or any other day,” the lawyer writes, adding that the Chicago Board of Education had ignored his client’s complaints. The family is seeking $100,000 in damages, alleging that their son suffered “personal” and “permanent” injuries. The school system says it needs to read the suit, filed Monday, before commenting. (More Chicago stories.)