The mother of a Bastrop ISD student is waiting for answers after she claims she found her 5-year-old son was shut inside of a padded room with no adult supervision.
Self-described "tough mom" Kayla Chavez is just as angry today as she was on Tuesday, when she went to Lost Pines Elementary in Bastrop to bring cupcakes to her 5-year-old son.
"I found my son in a closet, that I thought was a janitor's closet," Kayla said.
She says the door was closed and there was no ventilation and no adults around.
He was sitting with his lunchbox inside a square outlined on the floor.
"I heard him as soon as I walked out of the cafeteria screaming 'I wanna be out! Let me out! Let me out!'" Kayla added.
She let him out, stormed off to the office and withdrew both of her children from school.
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Kayla admits her son cries often and has been put in a room with tables and chairs, but never the padded space right next door.
The boy's father, Joseph Chavez, says he spoke to the principal and asked why they weren't notified.
"They said that they sent us a phone call but we missed the call. And they left a message but...it doesn't seem far enough," he told KVUE's Tina Shively.
Jospeh claims the principal also said that his son was placed in the padded room because he refused to go to lunch.
"How was my child brought to or put in this room if he refused to walk to the cafeteria?" Kayla asked. Bastrop ISD refused KVUE's request for an interview.
They sent the following written statement from Kristi Lee, Ed.D., Executive Director of Communications & Community Services.
"A report of a recent incident at one of our campuses as discussed on social media is inaccurate and does not reflect a true picture of the incident. For privacy reasons, however, we cannot comment about a specific student.Generally speaking, as part of a holistic discipline and behavior management plan, we use a continuum of behavior supports and disciplinary strategies including but not limited to verbal correction, removing a student to a different space, or the use of calming-down time.
In accordance with the law and best practices, Bastrop ISD makes use of cool-down rooms at some of its campuses. The purpose of a cool-down room is to provide a safe environment for students to release frustration and to engage in the de-escalation process with staff who are trained in SAMA de-escalation techniques. It might also be used to give students a break who are needing to regulate their emotions or sensory systems. There is always an adult in the room or just outside of it, and doors are open and unlocked. In addition, our cool-down rooms meet greater than the standard required by law.
The district makes every effort to work with students based on their individual needs and the needs of the situation, and our focus is on their safety and well-being. Our goal is to teach them how to make good choices, how to have self-control, and to provide them with necessary support in terms of space and adult supervision."Round Rock attorney Martin Cirkiel has no knowledge of the facilities in Lost Pines, but has represented area students placed in "cool-down rooms."
He says there's nothing illegal about the rooms themselves, however, he says the fact that Kayla claims she didn't know her son was in there violates due process.
"Without some school psychologist or some other professional working together as a team or working with parents, and saying 'Yeah this is an intervention this child needs', they're absolutely wrong, 100 percent," Cirkiel said.
KVUE reached out to two of the largest school districts in our area to find out what their policies are when it comes to "cool-down" rooms.
AISD tells KVUE they do not use them. Round Rock says a number of their schools have them, adding "the name of the room can vary from campus to campus. Sometimes, if space for an entire room is not available, campuses will designate areas as sensory motor labs which students can go to use sensory toys and get away from over stimulation."
