Julio Artuz, 15-Year-Old Special Needs Student, Records Verbal Abuse by Teacher [VIDEO]
Julio Artuz is following in Hillary Adams' courageous footsteps.
No one believed the 15-year-old special needs student when he said that his teacher at Bankbridge Regional School in Gloucester County, NJ, had been verbally abusing him.
Even his parents did not listen when Artuz complained about the maltreatment.
It makes me feel like I'm trash, Artuz said.
So the boy decided to take matters into his own hands and record the bullying with his cell phone camera, according to NBC10 Investigators.
In the recording, the special needs teacher is seen yelling at Artuz and making some brash, discriminatory proclamations. All Artuz wants is to be considered normal.
Don't call me special, Artuz told his teacher, whose identity is still unknown.
What? Oh my god, f----ing. What does the sign on the front of the school say? Special education, the teacher yelled back.
Artuz emphasized the fact that the teacher should not refer to him as special and once outside the school doors, the teacher could no longer call him that.
The teacher then snapped, cursing and threatening the boy.
I will kick your a-- from here to kingdom-come until I'm 80 years old, he said.
When Artuz tells the teacher not to threaten him the teacher responds, What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? You gonna get a chopper and chop me? Like I'm scared.
The teacher proceeds to physically go up to Artuz, getting in his face and arguing with him loudly.
NBC10 interviewed Artuz and his father about the incident. Artuz looked visibly upset during the discussion.
It's horrible, said the young boy.
The NBC10 Investigators then showed the video to attorney David Arnold, who specializes in problems between school districts and special needs families.
Well that's truly disappointing, Arnold said.
The only thing that this child is learning at this point is that, you know, violent behavior is the answer, he added.
The school district reported that the suspect teacher is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and board of education action, reports NBC.
Superintendent Michael Dicken then emailed NBC with a statement saying:
Our school district takes all bullying, harassment, and intimidation allegations seriously. We do not tolerate it. The safety and well being of our students is our first and foremost concern. It is of particular concern when an allegation is made against a teacher.
We take great pride in maintaining a healthy, safe and secure educational environment for our students. Immediately, upon notification of a complaint we followed the steps as established by the Board of Education policy for HIB.
The actions depicted on the video do not reflect the mission or culture of our school. My comments are constrained by policy regarding personnel and student records.
The teacher told Julio's father that it was just his way of motivating the kids. Then he changed his story, citing marital problems at home as the issue.
This is the second recent revelation of a special needs student getting bullying by superiors while behind school doors, reports The Huffington Post.
A young, special needs girl and her father went on the Today show to discuss an incident where she had been bullied by her teacher, Christy Wilt, and the teacher's aide, Kelly Chaffins.
The girl recorded the incident with a hidden camera her parents had attached to her clothes.
No wonder you don't have any friends, Chaffins is recorded saying. No wonder nobody likes you. The audio gets worse as Wilt allows, and at times participates in bullying the special needs student about her weight.
Don't you want to do something about that belly, Chaffins said.
Wilt then criticizes the girl for not exercising.
Chaffins was forced to resign and Wilt remains on unpaid leave after agreeing to eight hours of classes on how to recognize and stop bullying and child abuse.
View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.
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