ZACHARY, La. (WAFB/Gray News) – The mom of a 6-year-old girl in Louisiana said her daughter was forced to clean up her own feces after she had an accident at school that was caused by her dairy allergy.
Jamisha Augustine said her daughter has a dairy allergy, but despite this, she drank milk for breakfast at Rollins Place Elementary School and became sick almost immediately.
Augustine remembers filling out forms and sending doctors’ notes with her enrollment paperwork about her daughter’s dairy allergy at the beginning of the year.
The mom said after drinking the milk, her daughter used the bathroom multiple times, but eventually, her teacher stopped letting her go.
“She asked her teacher to go to the restroom, but she said no because she went too many times,” Augustine said.
The 6-year-old ended up defecating on herself and then was forced to clean up the mess.
“So, upon her going to the office after having an accident, the principal told her she was too big to be having accidents on herself,” Augustine said.
The principal told Augustine that the child needed a form of discipline for the accident.
“I said, what was the point of making her clean that up? Do y’all have janitors? She said they do have janitors, but she needed a form of discipline,” Augustine said. “I’m saying, how can you punish her for having an accident?”
Ben Necaise, the Superintendent of Zachary Community Schools, said he does not condone the behavior of the teacher and principal.
“You learn from mistakes,” Necaise said. “You take ownership, accept them, and try to do what’s right by the child and parent. In hindsight, they realized that was not an appropriate step. We do have safety precautions that we have to abide by, and again, a child should never be put in that situation to have to deal with that.”
Following the situation, Necaise said the adults have been “retrained.” He also said students with food allergies are always adhered to.
“We have many students who have allergies and dietary restrictions, and that’s something the cafeteria staff does well with to make sure that they follow those rules,” Necaise said. “So, if there’s a dietary restriction on file, they follow that closely.”
Augustine called the situation “irresponsible, hazardous, disgraceful, and really pathetic.”
The school system called her and offered a formal apology. But she believes actions speak louder than words.
“You [should] send a janitor in with the proper equipment,” Augustine said. “But a 6-year-old kid, you are going to make them clean up poop without gloves. It’s disgraceful and should not have gone on in our school. It should not have happened.”
Jamisha Augustine said her daughter has a dairy allergy, but despite this, she drank milk for breakfast at Rollins Place Elementary School and became sick almost immediately.
Augustine remembers filling out forms and sending doctors’ notes with her enrollment paperwork about her daughter’s dairy allergy at the beginning of the year.
The mom said after drinking the milk, her daughter used the bathroom multiple times, but eventually, her teacher stopped letting her go.
“She asked her teacher to go to the restroom, but she said no because she went too many times,” Augustine said.
The 6-year-old ended up defecating on herself and then was forced to clean up the mess.
“So, upon her going to the office after having an accident, the principal told her she was too big to be having accidents on herself,” Augustine said.
The principal told Augustine that the child needed a form of discipline for the accident.
“I said, what was the point of making her clean that up? Do y’all have janitors? She said they do have janitors, but she needed a form of discipline,” Augustine said. “I’m saying, how can you punish her for having an accident?”
Ben Necaise, the Superintendent of Zachary Community Schools, said he does not condone the behavior of the teacher and principal.
“You learn from mistakes,” Necaise said. “You take ownership, accept them, and try to do what’s right by the child and parent. In hindsight, they realized that was not an appropriate step. We do have safety precautions that we have to abide by, and again, a child should never be put in that situation to have to deal with that.”
Following the situation, Necaise said the adults have been “retrained.” He also said students with food allergies are always adhered to.
“We have many students who have allergies and dietary restrictions, and that’s something the cafeteria staff does well with to make sure that they follow those rules,” Necaise said. “So, if there’s a dietary restriction on file, they follow that closely.”
Augustine called the situation “irresponsible, hazardous, disgraceful, and really pathetic.”
The school system called her and offered a formal apology. But she believes actions speak louder than words.
“You [should] send a janitor in with the proper equipment,” Augustine said. “But a 6-year-old kid, you are going to make them clean up poop without gloves. It’s disgraceful and should not have gone on in our school. It should not have happened.”
