FULTON COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Parents of a special needs child, reportedly abused by his teacher, took the Fulton County School System to court Monday to request that it pay for his future education.
Alex Williams, 18, is one of six students named in two independent reports, that had been abused by their teacher Melanie Pickens at Hopewell Middle School in Milton between 2004 and 2007.
Lisa Williams, Alex's mother, said her son has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse.
In court, at the Office of State Administrative Hearings, Attorney Chris Vance said, "Alex was severely abused for a year, pushed down, had his book bag shoved at him, thrown to the ground, called names, secluded in a room by himself, lights off, tied to a Rifton chair, abandoned."
Lisa Williams said her son can't go back to the public school system because the abuse damaged him and his ability to learn in that environment.
Vance said she is trying to convince the judge that Alex did not receive an appropriate education. If a child is denied an appropriate education the school district has to compensate the child.
"We're seeking private placement because Fulton County [School System] cannot be trusted to educate Alex again," said Vance.
Judge Kimberly Schroer scheduled another hearing on this issue next month.
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